Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120307509 - Pinner Construction Company Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:00 a.m. on August 13, 2001, construction work on several steel framed buildings was in progress in the Pier T area, which is the old naval shipyard, in Long Beach, California. The building involved was a three level administrative building, which will later be used for the Hanjin Shipping Company. This building occupied approximately 16,000 square feet of space. The height of the building was 50-feet. A 3-inch thick concrete slab was poured on steel deckings of the building. The height of the first floor was about 16-feet. On the day of the accident, the second-floor 18-gauge steel decks were mostly placed in position, except the required openings for an elevator shaft and a few 7-inch to 8-inch wide openings parallel to the beams. Each steel deck was 3-feet wide and 24-feet long and weighed 150 pounds. All, except one or two, of the decks were tack welded. During their break period, Employee #1's supervisor, a carpenter working for the general contractor, instructed Employee #1 and another carpenter to provide control lines on the second floor decking. This assignment would require the presence of more carpenters on the second floor deck. After the break, two employees, including Employee #1, reached the second floor decks by using a ladder. When the employees walked on the deck to the desired location, Employee #1 examined the area and determined that there were two layers of deck in one location. He wanted to remove the extra upper deck layer, because he thought there was a lower layer deck which was tack welded. Employee #1 quickly picked up the end of the extra top layer and pushed it hard towards the other end. Employee #1 took one step and fell 16-feet through the large opening and landed on the concrete below. He suffered from substantial bleeding, a fractured shoulder bone, a fractured vertebra, and head injuries. His employer failed to inspect the area prior to working. Employee #1 was hospitalized at Saint Mary's Hospital.

Keywords: DECKING, FRACTURE, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, FLOOR OPENING