Powered Platform Accident in Texas Closes Streets

Photo by MyFox News Dallas, TX

Thursday, November 13, 2008 this powered platform fell 45 feet, breaking glass windows and damaging property before coming to rest 46 floors above the streets below. Broken glass fell and fortunately no one was injured. The workers were rescued.

ZERO TOLERANCE!

Canada appears to be stepping up its efforts to prevent fatalities from falls. Recently companies have been fined quite severely in Canada for accidents and for infractions of safety regulations. The great news is the Pro-Active approach to prevention and protection - saving lives.
Here in the USA we suffer from

Father's Fatal Fall

Wearing harness but not tied in to an anchor ...

DAD'S DEATH FALL
TRAGEDY IN HARLEM FOR BELOVED HARDHAT

By ERIK SHILLING and BILL SANDERSON

Posted: 3:47 am September 12, 2008 at New York Post

A construction worker described by his sobbing wife as "the support of his family" plunged four stories to his death yesterday when one end of his suspended-platform scaffold gave way from a Harlem building, authorities said.
Miguel Rodriguez's widow and 7-year-old son, Kevin, wept and hugged one another at the spot where he died yesterday afternoon.
"He was there for his son," said Berta Rodriguez, 40. "He was the support of the family. I stayed and took care of the kids, and he'd go out to work every day."
Miguel, 38, leaves another son, who is 17.
The Ecuadorian immigrant was wearing a safety harness, but it was not secured to anything that could have prevented his plunge from the fifth story of 266 W. 111th St. to a sidewalk shed four stories below, authorities said.
Officials weren't sure yesterday why the

News from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics has just released its August 20, 2008 Report for 2007.

Since 1992 the fatal falls stat has increased 39% to 835, from 600. See the green trend-line in the chart, taken from the DOL BLS 2007 report.

This in spite of new and improved OSHA regulations and industry concensus standards such as the I-14.1-2001, not to mention most construction firms now have the new post of "Safety Director" to create safety manuals, monitor practices on site, prevent accidents before they happen. Unfortunately, there aren't enough OSHA inspectors for all the

Fatal Falls in 2007 Sets a Record! (not good)

At the "pump handle", Christina Morgan writes there were 835 fatal falls in 2007, and, each and every one of them were (or should have been ) preventable... and the workers whose lives are literally hanging on the line everyday have come to the sad disposition that they have to live with these circumstances - that coming home to their families at the end of the day is a statistical probability, but not an absolute.

Please read here ---> http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/this-happens/

Window Washers Die in 40-Foot Lift Tip-Over

2 Window Washers Die in 40-Foot Fall
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: August 5, 2008

Two cousins who were window washers fell to their deaths while working on a financial district building early on Tuesday, the police said.
They identified the victims as Robert Fabrizio, 35, of Las Vegas, and Garin Fabrizio, 37, of Milford, Pa.
The two were working in a crane

Firefighters Rescue Dangling Window Washers

From: The Canadian Press August 15, 2008
Edmonton -- Two window washers who were left dangling by their safety harnesses after their platform collapsed beneath them yesterday were rescued from the side of the downtown Edmonton law courts building.
Firefighters got the workers down and one of the men was treated for a cut to the back of his head.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Scaffold Blown Around Like a Kite in Miami

(One reason for certified anchorages, and Intermittent Stabilization Anchors; avoid injury, avoid damage to building, avoid worse news, avoid injuring 3rd parties)

From: NBC6.net

Caught On Tape: Construction Workers On Scaffold Whipped By WindPOSTED: 9:19 am EDT July 16, 2008 / UPDATED: 9:50 am EDT July 16, 2008
MIAMI -- A viewer used his cell phone to capture video images of a scaffold swinging and shaking uncontrollably on a Miami high-rise Tuesday afternoon, and the stormy weather isn't over for South Florida yet.
Construction workers who were working

ANSI / IWCA I-14.1-2001: an OSHA National Consensus Standard for Window Cleaning (Highlights)

The ANSI / IWCA I-14.1-2001 is an OSHA National Consensus Standard. It has been referenced in several OSHA CITATIONS (found elsewhere in this blog) -- buildings new and old need to meet the requirements of this standard. A few highlights (click title for more):

Window Washer Fatally Injured in Fort Meyers, FL

From: Wink News

Window washer falls 8 stories, By Althea Paul, WINK News
Story Created: Jun 15, 2007 at 1:20 PM EDT, Story Updated: Jun 16, 2007 at 6:56 PM EDT
South Fort Myers - Friday morning a window washer fell 8 stories and died. The accident happened around 8:30am in South Lee County.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the window washer was working

Window Washer Critically Injured in Orlando, FL

From the Orlando Sentinel

Orlando, Fl, May 13, 2008, page B.3, section Local & State
Worker injured in fall off roof
ORLANDO---A window washer was critically injured Monday when he fell from the rooftop of Florida Hospital Orlando, police said. Jose Montalbo, 31, of Kissimmee suffered numerous broken bones and bleeding from his head, according to a police report. He was in critical condition late Monday at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Why he fell is not yet known. Which window cleaning company Mr. Montalbo works for is not known. Why he was moved from Florida Hospital to the ORMC is not known.

New York City Window Cleaning Fall Accident 2007

Here’s a positive update on the recent New York City window cleaning accident…
In the national news Friday morning (Jan 4, 2008) was a report the surviving brother has improved significantly from this tragic accident. It’s being called “a miracle”. Imagine surfing a falling platform down the wall of a tall building! These are the creations of movies, not real life…
GOOGLE "new york city window cleaning accident"
It seems two mistakes may have lead to this event (a) a faulty platform / scaffold or faulty suspension lines and (b) workers not using safety lines independently tied off. If they suspected the platform was unsafe, as earlier reports stated, why wouldn’t they tie themselves off to safety tie-backs? The presumption is maybe there weren’t any tiebacks on the building.
Apparently, according to the news, the family of the deceased window cleaner has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the building managers and scaffold company. No matter what the outcome, it will not bring him back.
Please forward to your friends and associates who are in the industry to help raise awareness of hazard identification, hazard reduction, fall protection, fall prevention and risk mitigation.