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At approximately 10:30 p.m. on October 6, 1999, Employee #1 was operating a crawler-type Link Belt hydraulic excavator during demolition of a two-story, 464,850 sq ft warehouse complex. He had positioned the excavators' boom/arm, which was equipped with a LaBounty shear, through an opening in a brick elevator tower into an area near the second level of the main warehouse building. It is believed that Employee #1 was retrieving a 20-ton elevator motor or that he was cutting through the tower structure to access the motor. Just prior to the accident, a witness observed the boom/arm being withdrawn, at which point it scissored upward and forcefully struck the roof of the elevator tower. This roof dislodged and collapsed, resulting in the total destruction of the elevator tower and connected structural members of the warehouse's south perimeter wall. The approximately 15 ft by 20 ft x 6 in. elevator tower roof apparently slid down onto the excavator boom and cab, killing Employee #1. Subsequent investigation revealed that the company's engineering plan failed to address the removal of building elevators. There was also no evidence that the plan was in writing, a violation of T8CCR of 1926.850(a).
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| Keywords:
roof collapse, demolition, building collapse, work rules, equipment operator, construction, earthmoving equip, excavator, struck by
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