UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Inspection Detail

Inspection: 100277193 - Bill Thomas Masonry

Inspection Information - Office: Oklahoma City

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:15 p.m. on March 25, 1986, Employee #1 was instantly killed when a precast concrete wall panel fell onto him. Employee #1 and three iron workers were prepared to lift three precast concrete wall panels along the south wall of a building. The work schedule for the day was to hoist each panel and place them going from east to west and weld them at the top. They were then tasked with detaching them from the crane, align each panel and weld it at the bottom. They were to then permanently attach it to the structure. At some time later during the day all panels were allowed to stand without additional bracing or supporting. During the alignment process Employee #1 and two iron workers worked in the approximately one-and- half-foot-deep ditch directly underneath the suspended panels. When the panels seemed to be approximately aligned the iron workers left the ditch while Employee #1 attempted to return to his tripod on the east corner of the existing structure. The first panel from the west corner collapsed followed by the second panel which struck Employee #1 in the head crushing and killing him instantly. The third panel also failed seconds later. The three panels collectively weighed more than 15,000 lbs.

Keywords:precast, struck by, concrete form work, panel, iron worker, concrete, concrete panel, trench, crushed