Inspection Detail

Inspection: 107091803 - Tri State Tower Service, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Jackson Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was the crew foreman for a tower erection contractor. The crew's first day on this job was February 16, 1998, and the steel for the new 700 ft tall TV tower had been delivered that day. On February 27, 1998, Employee #1 and his crew had set the initial 110 ft section of this triangular tower on the former tower's 4.5 ft tall concrete base and had attached a 120 ft tall gin pole derrick to its northwest face. At approximately 9:30 a.m. on February 28, 1998, they were finishing rigging up wire rope lines to the derrick from its ground-based winches to begin hoisting additional tower sections into place. Employee #1 and two coworkers climbed to the top of a ladder inside the triangular tower base section, and Employee #1 then climbed out onto the gin pole. Apparently he was not properly using the one lanyard he had to secure himself to structural members of the gin pole. He and his two assistants were using a 3/8 in. choker sling doubled into four parts to attach a block and pulley for the tag, or trolley, line to the outside of the gin pole The wire rope tag line was being run from a dedicated winch on the ground to near the top of the gin pole; it would be used to keep future tower sections being hoisted from hitting the erected tower. The trolley line and the rigging for it had been hoisted to Employee #1 on the gin pole's load line with another dedicated winch when he slipped and fell 114.5 ft; he was killed. Employee #1 and his two helpers were wearing full body harnesses; however, Employee #1 was using only one lanyard. The two other men had followed the contractor's policy of using two lanyards to achieve 100 percent fall protection whenever 6 ft above the ground. In addition, Employee #1's harness seat straps were not buckled. The gin pole's load line winch was being controlled from the ground by an equipment operator who was in radio contact with both Employee #1 and one of the helpers. The equipment operator said neither winch was even running at the time Employee #1 fell. On the basis of the physical evidence, it appeared that Employee #1 was not properly secured to a structural member of either the gin pole derrick or of the tower itself when he slipped and fell.

Keywords: COMMUNICATION TOWER, INSTALLING, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, SAFETY BELT, SLIP, CONSTRUCTION, LANYARD, FALL, FALL PROTECTION