OSHA Inspection: DERR CONSTRUCTION CO

Issued

Mar 16, 1999

Abate by

Apr 9, 1999

Penalty

Initial $6,300 · Current $6,300

Issued

Mar 16, 1999

Abate by

Mar 19, 1999

Penalty

Initial $63,000 · Current $63,000

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish to each of his employees a place of employment which was free from
recognized hazards
that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees in that
employees were exposed to the conditions listed below:
a)  New Orleans Sports Arena construction site, 1650 Julia St, New Orleans
LA. On or
about 21 Sep 98, the employer was in the process of positioning a
suspended mechanical
platform to hangers dropped from the roof girders of the structure, when
the platform
collapsed due to overloading. The platform was constructed in 3 sections
joined together
with three splice plates located near the center of the platform. It was a
non-rigid
structure when it was lifted. The bolted connections were not torqued. The
platform had
been lifted several times for test lifts, the lift to the shoring towers
on the 5th level and
the final lift where it was suspended for approximately 45 minutes. The
employer used
a four legged sling (rigging) to lift the platform. The resulting angle
between the
horizontal platform and the sling leg was approximately 35 degrees due to
the size of the
platform and the position of the sling. Each time the platform was lifted,
it was subjected
to flexing motions which were the results of the steep sling angle and the
"loose" bolted
connections. This resulted in forces being transmitted throught the
I-beams to the splice
plates. The downward motion of the platform and the pulling forces of the
rigging caused
the splice plates to become shear plates and the result was the failure
and collapse of the
platform. Inadequate engineering design of the rigging and the method used
for the lift
exposed employees to falls of apporximately 20 to 40 feet to the 5th floor
of the cement
multi-level stadium seating structure.
Among other methods, a number of feasible and acceptable abatement methods
to
correct
this hazard could be:
1. Use spreader bars when performing the lift. This would allow for
lifting forces to be
applied vertically from the platform, resulting in a 90 degree angle to
the platform
horizontal versus a 35 degree angle.
2. Lift the platform in smaller sections. This would allow for the angle
between the
horizontal and the rigging to be greater than 45 degrees. It would also
allow for the
lifting of a rigid structure which would exposed to little or no flexing.