Inspection Detail

Inspection: 312441736 - K2 Construction, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

On September 22, 2008, Employee #1 was working with coworkers, installing 12 ft long sections of trim to a curved, front porch roof. The scaffold was erected by the president of the company and was located at the front porch. The work platform consisted of a 10 ft section of a Werner extension ladder with a piece of painted wood on top of the ladder as planking. The wood was 1-in. thick, 11-in. wide, and 7-ft, 10-in. long. The scaffold was 5-ft high, 6-ft long, and 4-ft wide. Another similar scaffold was erected on the other side of the porch at the same time. The porch floor was constructed of concrete and had two steps made of concrete and stone. The distance from the porch roof to the concrete floor was 9 feet. The distance from the porch roof to the ground was approximately 10 feet. The employee and two coworkers worked on the scaffold on the left side of the porch (as facing house), one on each end and one in the center. Their combined weight was approximately 300 to 350 pounds, and the weight of the trim material was approximately 50 pounds. At approximately 11:45 a.m., when employees accessed the work platform, the pole scaffold collapsed. The employee and coworkers fell to the ground with the scaffold components. The employee was taken to the hospital for back pain. Employee #1 suffered a fractured vertebra but was not hospitalized.

Keywords: FRACTURE, COLLAPSE, FALL, VERTEBRA, SCAFFOLD