OSHA Inspection: LUPO CONSTRUCTION, INC.

Issued

Sep 1, 1999

Abate by

Sep 7, 1999

Penalty

Initial $21,000 · Current $7,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:
The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment
which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely
to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that
employees were exposed to death, serious injury and/or crushing
injuries caused by the collapse of pre-fabricated wooden roof
trusses which were not adequately secured or braced during
installation:
Hartland Consolidated School - On or About May 28, 1999, this
employer failed to ensure that 47 T-5 and T-6 trusses, with a
combined weight of 38,916 pounds, were adequately secured and
braced in accordance with the Truss Placement Plan or
Publication HIB-91 Summary Sheet published by the Truss Plate
Institute which sets forth specific temporary bracing
standards for the wood trusses being installed. Failure to
follow these procedures did result in a serious structural
collapse and one fatality.
While the ultimate responsibility for correcting hazards rests with
the employer, given it's superior knowledge of the workplace,
feasible and acceptable methods to correct this hazard, among
others, are to follow the temporary bracing standards in
Publication HIB-91 or the Truss Placement Plan including: 1) making
all temporary bracing connections with a minimum of two 16d nails,
2) installing 2 X 4 top chord lateral bracing spaced according to
a registered professional engineer's design for the T-5 trusses and
installing 2 X 4 or equivalent top chord lateral bracing no more
than 7 feet apart for the T-6 trusses, 3) installing bottom chord
bracing according to a register professional engineer's design for
the T-5 trusses, 4) lapping lateral 2 X 4 bracing across at least
2 trusses, 5) installing top chord diagonal (45 degree) bracing
according to a registered professional engineer's design for the T-
5 trusses and installing top chord diagonal (45 degree) bracing no
more than 10 trusses apart for the T-6 trusses, 6) installing cross
bracing on each end of the building and at 20 foot intervals for
the T-5 trusses, 7) installing bottom chord diagonal (45 degree)
bracing according to a registered professional engineer's design
for the T-5 trusses and installing diagonal (45 degree) bracing on
the end verticals for the T-6 trusses, and 8) installing ground
bracing for the building interior and exterior.