Workers Survive Scaffold Failure
(Taken from Job Safety and Health Quarterly, Summer/Fall
2003, Vol.14, NO.4 )
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Mark Briggs
Occupational Safety
and Health Administration
By strictly
enforcing OSHA's fall protection standard, a Texas company saves two
worker's lives and demonstrates the value of workplace safety and
health.
A water tower in Galveston,Texas, provided the platform for a
lesson in the value of fall protection.
The day began like any other for Marcos Kasvicis, part owner of DMS
Painting, Inc. for the past 12 years. Little did he know that before
the day was over, his company's commitment to workplace safety would
be put to the ultimate test.
Two of Kasvicis' long-term employees, David Torres and Dennis Avilias,
who had worked for the company six and three-anda- half years, respectively,
had been working all day on the side of a City of Galveston, Texas,
water tower. Suddenly, one of the motors holding the suspension scaffolding
they were standing on failed, and the left side dropped several feet.
In an instant, both men might easily have plunged 40 to 45 feet to
their deaths.
Fortunately, the management at DMS had embraced OSHA's message that
"Safety and health adds value. To your business. To your workplace.
To your life." In doing so, DMS required that all employees use safety
harnesses while working above ground level. "We've always required
the use of fall protection," said Kasvicis. "We have even fired employees
when we caught them not wearing it."
A suspension scaffold hangs alongside the water tower. Fall protection
prevented the workers from falling 40 to 45 feet to their deaths.
Basil Singh, a compliance safety and health officer for the Houston
South Area Office, happened to be driving down the road as the events
unfolded on the water tower. "I was out doing other inspection work
and saw the scaffold start falling," he said. Fully expecting to have
to conduct a multiple-fatality investigation when he reached the scene,
Singh said he was "happy to find that DMS had required those guys
to tie off." Although visibly shaken by the incident, both workers
were rescued and reached the ground without injury.
All agree that DMS' strict enforcement of OSHA's fall protection standard
saved the two workers' lives. OSHA points to the incident as a prime
example of why fall protection requirements are in place. The OSHA
standard requires that all employees on a two-point adjustable suspension
scaffold be protected by both a personal fall arrest system and guardrail
system.
"We need to commend this company for its actions today," said Joe
Reina, assistant administrator for the Dallas Regional Office, who
was in Houston the day the incident occurred. "They did it right.
They realized the value of safety and they deserve our thanks."
Another
Success Story
A Des Plaines, Ill., contractor has added his company's name
to the many who attest to the life-saving value of fall protection
for workers. Reliable Brothers, home improvement specialists
in roofing, siding, windows, and carpentry in the Chicago suburb,
was cited in March 2002 for not having adequate fall protection
on its worksites. The employer did not contest the citation.
In fact, he purchased necessary fall protection equipment, including
harnesses, on the day of the inspection.
That equipment came in handy two months later, when the employer
reported that one of his workers fell off a 27-foot-high roof-but
was saved from almost certain death by the safety harness he
was wearing. The employee suffered only minor injuries and was
back to work in six days. |
Briggs is a compliance assistance specialist in OSHA's Houston Area
Office
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