Inspection Detail

Inspection: 102033974 - L. R. Wilson & Sons Incorporated

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was a member of a crew that was erecting tilt-up wall panels around the perimeter of the slab floor of a one-story warehouse. They were using the prescribed rigging, hardware, and methods, including the installation of adjustable pipe braces between the erected wall slabs and the concrete slab floor, pending joint completion and roof installation. As the crew neared the end of the job, they found that three slab panels could not be installed by the established tilt-up method. They had to be hoisted and set in a continuously vertical position with the bottom elevated about 12 ft. Synthetic (nylon) web slings in a basket hitch were used to set one panel. The slings were evenly spaced under the lifting beam for a complete vertical lift, but they were not padded. While the second panel was suspended in preparation for being set, it tilted in the sling and slid slightly. The panel cut through one sling and partially through the other. The erection crew scattered as it dropped. Employee #1 stopped momentarily to look back as he fled the building. As he did so the upper edge of a previously set panel, which had been dislodged when the falling panel demolished its knee (pipe) braces, fell on him. He was crushed and killed.

Keywords: ERECTION PROCESS, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, CONCRETE PANEL, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, SLING, FALLING OBJECT