Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315346353 - Solpac Construction Inc Dba Soltek Pacific Constru

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:05 a.m. on September 4, 2012 Employee #1, a 28-year-old male carpenter with Soltek Pacific Construction Company, was working at a site in Carlsbad, California. Soltek Pacific Construction was constructing cement columns as part of Masonry wall construction at this site. Employee #1 was working as a carpenter who was assembling and disassembling cement forms used in the construction of columns and other cement objects. Employee #1 stated that prior to climbing on to the EZ Commercial Tower Scaffold, he checked and found a green tag with an authorization signature dated September 4, 2012 indicating the work platform had been inspected and access was permitted under Balfour-Beatty's safety program. At the time of the incident Employee #1 was standing on scaffold planking at column number seven in building number four, stripping formwork from a cast in place column. Employee #1 reported to have been using a fifty-six inch long "Burk" pry bar to pry off a two-inch by four-inch wood ledger from cement column number seven that it was attached to. Employee # 1 was standing on two scaffold planks that were part of an EZ Commercial Tower Scaffold owned by New Dimension Masonry Inc. The scaffold planks were supported by a bearer bar that was positioned approximately two-inches from column number seven, the scaffold planks overlapped the bearer bar by approximately two inches. A coworker stated that he was working above Employee #1, on Column number seven. The coworker stated that he saw Employee #1 make a quick motion with the Burk Bar to pry the wood ledger off the column and at the same time he saw the two scaffold planks that Employee #1 was standing on slide right out from under Employee #1's feet. The coworker saw Employee #1 fall. Employee #1 struck a pipe that was sticking out of the wall while falling approximately twenty-nine feet to the cement floor below. The coworker yelled that Employee #1 fell and for someone to call 911.while he went to Employee #1's aid. A review of the EZ Scaffold Commercial Tower Scaffold safety and installation manual found on page forty, section B, labeled "Construction" that the manufacturer stated that, "All scaffold planks must extend six inches beyond and no more than twelve inches past the bearer bar and that all overhead scaffold planks must overlap a minimum of six inches. Additional review of the instruction manual found no directions, instructions or authorizations allowing for a deviation of the six-inch overlap requirement for scaffold planks. A New Dimension Masonry employee stated that a representative of Balfour Beatty requested the tower scaffold be left in place for use by other trades after New Dimension Masonry was done with its use and was ready to disassemble it. Balfour Beatty's Site specific Safety Program required that a qualified person inspect the scaffold on a daily basis. When the scaffold was found safe, the qualified person was to sign and date a green tag indicating the scaffold was safe to use. Employees of New Dimension Masonry were the competent persons who conducted the daily safety inspections of the scaffold and would sign/date a green tag indicating the scaffold was safe to use. Employee #1 and the coworker stated that a green tag with the current date was in place at the scaffold stairwell on the day of the incident. Balfour Beatty's employees conducted daily safety inspections of the work site. Employee #1 fell approximately twenty-nine feet from scaffold to the floor below. Emergency Medical Service responded and transported Employee #1 to Scripps La Jolla where he was hospitalized for unspecified fracture injuries in excess of twenty-four hours.

Keywords: FRACTURE, SCAFFOLD COLLAPSE, FALL, TOWER, SCAFFOLD, SCAFFOLDING