Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300056215 - Kaw Valley Builders

Inspection Information - Office: Omaha Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, of Kaw Valley Builders, was part of a crew removing rotating biological contactors (RBCs) from the roof of the wastewater treatment plant in Beatrice, NE. He was standing on the concrete roof, signaling Employee #2, of BRB Contractors, who was operating a Koehring spanner crane, model #550, serial #C-13639. Employee #2 was swinging one of the RBC units away from the building to be set on the ground when the crane boom collapsed and fell back across the roof, causing it to cave in. Employee #1 fell inside the building and landed on other RBC units; he was crushed and killed by the collapsed crane boom. Employee #2 was crushed by the falling load as it landed on the cab of his crane. He suffered head lacerations, broken teeth, and compound fractures of his right arm, for which he was hospitalized. When this report was written, Employee #2 had been released from the hospital. The RBCs weighed 25,600 pounds as a new unit, according to shipping invoices. The RBC involved in the accident was estimated to have weighed at least 28,250 lb.

Keywords: WORK RULES, SUSPENDED LOAD, CRANE OPERATOR, FRACTURE, COLLAPSE, CRANE BOOM, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, FALLING OBJECT, UNSTABLE LOAD