Inspection Detail

Inspection: 308150713 - Taylor Ridge Drilled Foundation, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Naperville Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:06 p.m. on May 19, 2005, Employee #1 was working at the Shops of Elmhurst jobsite in Elmhurst, IL. He and two coworkers formed a three-person crew, which consisted of a drill rig operator, a skid steer operator, and a laborer. Employee #1's first coworker was operating a SoilMec Model Number R312/200 vertical drill rig, with Serial Number 2077. His second coworker was operating a Gehl Model Number SL-7800 skid loader, with Serial Number 901286. Employee #1 was working as the laborer on the ground. They were drilling holes to pour concrete caissons for a building foundation. As they drilled, they inserted into each hole a steel casing sleeve to prevent the caisson hole from caving in on itself. Each Arntzen-brand casing was 20 ft long and 36 in. in diameter and had a weight of 2,985 lb. Once the caisson hole was at the desired depth, concrete was poured into the caisson hole, and the casing was pulled out with 0.75-in.-diameter, 8-ft-long wire rope slings made by Lamco Slings & Rigging attached to a service winch on the drill rig with an 0.625-in. wire rope. The slings had a lift capacity of 9,800 lb. The extracted casing was held in a vertical position, with shackles securing it from falling. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 and his two coworkers did not install the shackles when the casing came to grade level. According to the drill rig operator, Employee #1 signaled the drill rig operator to lift the casing and remove it from the caisson hole. He did not signal the drill rig operator to stop the drill rig, which would have allowed Employee #1 to install the shackles. At this point, the skid loader operator grabbed the bottom of the casing and began to back away. The casing came loose from the wire rope slings and fell over. Employee #1, standing near the caisson hole preparing to install a rebar cage into the caisson, was in the path of the falling casing. It struck Employee #1, crushing him and killing him. Causal factors: The casing was not secured to the service winch when it was lifted from the caisson hole. When the casing was grabbed by the skid loader, slack developed in the wire rope slings. This slack allowed the slings to come off the casing notches. Shackles attached through the casing holes would have prevented this accident. Further, although the company holds toolbox talks daily on the jobsites and documents the attendance, there have been no toolbox talks conducted regarding the rigging procedures for the casings. The company does not have written rules and policies regarding safety on the jobsite.

Keywords: FRACTURE, RIGGING, UNSECURED, CONSTRUCTION, DRILL RIG--NON-OIL, PIPE, SLING, FALLING OBJECT