OSHA Inspection: HEBERT CONSTRUCTION, INC.

Issued

May 25, 2004

Abate by

Jun 3, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,500 · Current $750 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 the hazard of falling from, and being struck by, the metal
plate connected wood
roof trusses that were subject to potential movement due to the lack of
proper temporary
bracing:
a. At the construction site of a single-story commercial building located
at 4347
Lynx Paw Trail, Valrico, Florida.  During the installation of metal plate
connected wood roof trusses spanning 52-feet, four trusses collapsed
seriously
injuring five employees on or about April 14, 2004 due to insufficient
temporary
bracing.  The following factors contributed, or may have contributed to the
collapse:
1.  Top Chord Short Piece Temporary Lateral Bracing on the
north side, south side, peak and bottom chords were of 1-inch by
4 inch construction, rather than 2-inch by 4-inch construction as
specified in Step 4 of BCSI-B2.
2.  Top Chord Temporary Diagonal Bracing spanned 10-feet on
the north side and 12-feet on the south side rather than being
limited to 8-foot spans as specified in Step 5 & 8 of B-2.
3.  Bottom Chord Temporary Lateral Bracing for the last 16
trusses consisted of 1-inch by 4-inch by 26-inch construction rather
than 2-inch by 4-inch by 12-foot construction as specified in Step
7 of B-2
4.  Bottom Chord Diagonal Bracing was non-existent for the last
16 trusses, as specified in Step 7 of B-2.
5.  Trusses exceeding 30-foot spans (these were 52-feet) were
hoisted using a two-point method rather than a properly configured
spreader bar as specified in BCSI-B1 and  HIB-91
6.  Trusses were released from hoisting supports before all top
chord temporary lateral braces were installed and before all
bearing attachments were secured, as specified in Step 4 of BCSI-
B2.
Abatement Note(s): One feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct
these hazards is to install the roof trusses in accordance with the Truss
Plate
Institute's recommendations which are contained in HIB-91, Recommendations
For Handling, Installing and Bracing Metal Plate Connected Wood
Trusses;and, BCSI-B1 and BCSI-B2 (Building Component Safety Information).
The truss
manufacturer provides a copy of the "HIB-91 Summary Sheet" and BCSI-B1
with the delivery of the trusses and the engineering installation drawings
for the
trusses refer to the HIB-91 for proper handling, installing and bracing.
The
Standard Building Code refers to the HIB-91 for handling, installing and
bracing
of metal plate connected wood trusses.