Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1203163.015 - Veritas Steel Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

On January 15, 2017, a crew, of three employees, was working in the east bunk of the paint shop. The crew consisted of an employee, a coworker, and a Lead-man. The work in the paint shop consisted of finishing bridge girders and other miscellaneous components, which involved employees handling, grinding, blasting, inspecting and finishing the components. Four overhead cranes were in operation in the paint shop for material handling purposes. The cranes shared the same set of rails, running east to west. Two 25 ton cranes were used to perform tandem lifts for the large bridge girders. Tandem lifts were typically accomplished with two double leg chain sets and two crane operators. Four girders had been staged in the bunk with a space left open in the middle. At approximately 3:45 p.m., the employee and the coworker were operating the east and west cranes, respectively, to set a 122 ft. long bridge girder down onto two paint stands in the open space. The girder weighed approximately 44,000 lbs. The bottom flange of the girder was 18 inches wide and the web was approximately 8.5 feet tall. The employees had placed their rigging at the quarter points from the girder ends. The girder had been set down on the stands and two bars clamps were used to secure the girder to the stands; one on each stand and on opposite sides of the girder. The employees began unhooking their rigging. The coworker had walked the west crane hoist and rigging down to the west end of the girder after it was unhooked. The employee had unhooked the rigging from the girder and was in the process of raising the crane hoist for the rigging to clear the floor. As the hoist was raised, the hook on the south side of the girder caught the bottom flange, causing the girder to become unbalanced. The girder tipped over and fell, striking the employee. The girder falling created a domino effect with two other girders staged to the north and knocked them off the stands. The employee suffered blunt force trauma to the chest, abdomen and the pelvis and was killed.

Keywords: Crane, Falling Object, Girder, Rigging, Struck By, Tandem Lift