Inspection Detail

Inspection: 311472278 - Big Framing Contractor Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Cleveland Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:15 a.m. on December 12, 2007, Employee #1 and a coworker were on an approximately 50 ft high Satellite S1200 Mast Climber scaffold, hauling wood through the fifth floor window outside the Gospel Church in Cleveland, OH. The stacks of lumber on the scaffold were wet due to rainy weather the previous day. Employee #1, was attached to an independent lifeline, unhooked himself and went to reattach to another independent lifeline on the opposite end of the scaffold. To do so, he had to walk the entire length of the scaffold without fall protection. There was an approximately 3 ft wide gap between the front of the scaffold and the building. Employee #1 was stepping on a pile of wet wood to reachthe rope when he slipped on the wood and fell between the scaffold and the face of the building. Employee #1's head and face struck against the building's window sill, and he landed on the metal base of the scaffold on the ground. Employee #1 was killed. Contributing factors in this accident were the lack of fall protection on the scaffold and insufficient planking. In addition, the required guardrails were not all in place on the rear of the scaffold.

Keywords: HEAD, GUARDRAIL, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, WALKING SURFACE, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, SLIPPERY SURFACE, TIE-OFF, SCAFFOLD