Ironworker falls to his death from a steel column in Indiana, March 28, 1988.
Source
NIOSH 1988 Nov; :1-5
Abstract
The case of a 35 year old male ironworker who died when he fell 60 feet from a steel column to a concrete pad was examined. The victim was a professional ironworker with more than 10 years experience. The victim was a member of a construction crew setting a tier of exterior steel columns for a large multistory building. The crew was in the process of setting a large 30 inch by 24 inch by 30 foot steel column, 30 inches wide on the flange side. Two tower cranes were used to position the column. Once in place, it was necessary to disconnect the cables that were used to hoist and position the column. In order to disconnect the upper cable, the victim climbed the 30 inch wide face of the column, holding on to the flanges. As the flanges were 6 inches thick, the victim could not grip the flange as he would on a smaller column. In attempting to reach a lug that he needed to hold while disconnecting the hoist cable assembly, he began to slide down the column. When his leg hit the bottom collar, he fell to a concrete pad 60 feet below. He died of multiple blunt force injuries. Fall protection should have been supplied. Safety considerations should have indicated the hazards of the job. Management should ensure that a written safety policy exists and that the requirements are enforced on the job site. The employee had a safety belt and lanyard at the worksite but failed to use them.
Keywords
NIOSH-Author; FACE-88-15; Accident-analysis; Region-5; Work-practices; Safety-research; Construction-workers; Iron-workers; Construction-industry; Construction-Search
Document Type
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation; Field Studies
NTIS Accession No.
PB89-188304
Identifying No.
FACE-88-15
Source Name
Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Morgantown, West Virginia, Report No. FACE-88-15, 5 pages
