Inspection Detail

Inspection: 18353391 - Electra Steel Products, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Jacksonville Area Office

Investigation Summary

On October 22, 1991, Employee #1 was directed to assist a coworker, a backhoe operator, in removing light poles from the parking lot of a renovation/construction work site. The backhoe tractor was digging around the base of the poles; once the ground had been partially excavated, a sling would be placed around the pole. The sling would be attached to the bucket of the backhoe, and the pole would be gently lowered to the ground. The coworker told Employee #1 to leave the parking lot area while the backhoe dug. After Employee #1 left, the coworker began digging around a light pole that fell over prematurely. Unknown to the coworker, Employee #1 had returned to the parking lot and was struck in the head and killed by the falling pole. It was discovered after the accident that this pole had not been as deeply threaded into the pedestal coupling as the others had been. The 24 ft long pole, installed in 1958, was constructed of 5-in. schedule 80 pipe. It had been screwed into the pedestal coupling at the concrete base and buried into the ground.

Keywords: HEAD, DISMANTLING, LIGHTING FIXTURE, STRUCK BY, CONSTRUCTION, FALLING OBJECT, COMMUNICATION, UNSTABLE POSITION