Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126587757 - Gosewisch Construction Company

Inspection Information - Office: Minnesota Department Of Labor And Industry

Investigation Summary

At 8:30 a.m. on January 3, 1998, as Employee #1 was beginning his shift, he slid an impact wrench down a 1-in-12 pitched roof to position it near the edge of the 90 ft wide roof. He misjudged the roof condition; there was a light frost on the surface and the wrench did not slow down. Fearing that it would go over the roof edge, Employee #1 began running after the tool. The foreman yelled "No!" as Employee #1 dove after the wrench. He slid off the roof edge on his stomach and fell 23 ft 4 in., landing approximately 20 ft out from the building on the asphalt driveway. Employee #1 was killed. The standards for steel erection and related work did not require fall protection in non-tiered buildings for fall hazards of less than 25 ft.

Keywords: ROOF, SLIP, CONSTRUCTION, STEEL ERECTION, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, SLIPPERY SURFACE, FROZEN, SLOPE, WORK SURFACE