Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126058155 - American Cooling Tower Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:50 a.m. on February 21, 2002, Employee #1 was part of a crew of five assigned to take down an old cooling tower with its motor. The cooling tower was mounted on a floor structure that was elevated from the top floor of the parking structure. The elevated structure, which was located within the center of a building, was approximately 150 feet away from the edges of the building. This structure housed two cooling towers. A third tower had been taken down and left an opening 9 feet wide and 30 feet long with 20 foot drop to a floor below. A motor for the third tower was still mounted on the side of this opening. At the time of the accident, the regular foreman was not on site, a substitute foreman was assigned with a crew of four to take down the motor for the third tower. Employee #1 climbed out from the opening onto an I-beam 5 feet below the edge measuring about 24 feet high 10 feet wide. He tried to loosen the bolts by using a wrench after applying liquid. The wrench slipped from his hands, and he lost his balance and fell to the floor. He was not tied off and did not use fall protection. He fractured his right arm and hip. He was hospitalized for about a month to treat his arm and hip.

Keywords: BEAM, FRACTURE, UNGUARDED FL OPENING, FLOOR HOLE, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, ARM, HIP