Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300258985 - B&R Homes & Development, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Raleigh

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:00 a.m. on September 16, 1996, Employee #1, of B & R Homes, arrived at a job site, accompanied by his coworkers, temporary workers from Laborfinders, Inc., and a crane crew from Tidewater Cranes and Rigging. They had agreed, on short notice, to "top" a tree. Employee #1 was selected as the man who would do the actual cutting, so he sat on the crane's headache ball and held onto the cable above it as the crane lifted him to a height of between 40 and 60 ft. He was transferring himself from the crane to the tree, and was swinging one leg over a branch when he lost his grip on the cable and ball and fell to the ground. He sustained serious injuries. Both the fire department and EMS responded within approximately 10 minutes, and he was transported to the hospital. At no time during his ascent was Employee #1 connected to the hook, ball, or cable of the crane, nor was he connected to a fixed point above him by any kind of safety line or fall arrest system. Although this constituted a violation of work rules, subsequent investigation indicated that it is a very common work practice, and Employee #1 was performing his job as he always did. A videotape being made at the time of the accident helped eliminate some inconsistencies in the superintendent's post-accident testimony concerning Employee #1's safety equipment and what he was doing at the time he fell. The superintendent stated that Employee #1 had been using climbing gaffs, a climber's belt and harness, and both a 5 ft and a 6 ft safety/positioning line; he also said that the employee was wearing a hardhat and safety glasses. The superintendent also indicated that Employee #1 fell while removing one of the safety lines, which was wrapped around the trunk of the tree, attaching the second line to a branch above him. According to the superintendent, the branch broke and Employee #1 fell. The videotape demonstrated that none of this was true. A police officer who responded to the scene also stated that he saw no climbing gaffs, harness/sling, safety glasses, hearing protection, or hard hat. He did note that Employee #1 had an 8 ft long length of 1/2 in. diameter rope tied around his waist in a double knot, with the excess looped, but there were no D rings or snaps attached to it.

Keywords: PPE, WORK RULES, SAFETY BELT, TREE, LANYARD, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, TREE TRIMMING, CRANE, CUTOUT--GAFF