An arbitration panel overseeing a dispute between the general contractor and owner of a Jacksonville, Fla. garage that collapsed during construction has announced initial findings in favor of the contractor. Choate Construction Co. of Atlanta announced Feb. 7 that the panel ruled in its favor on all issues. Choate had faced claims related to the collapse and for breach of contract. The contractor also stated that it had received favorable rulings on its claims for breach of contract and wrongful termination. Berkman Plaza II LLC, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based developer Harbor Cos., was the owner of the 413-space parking garage
The National Transportation Safety Board's interim report on the Sept. 9 natural-gas pipeline rupture and explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, Calif., focuses on defective pipe welds as a cause of the blast. Photo: Courtesy NTSB A new report says a portion of the California pipeline that exploded on Sept. 9 was seam-welded. The study rules out external corrosion and damage caused by a third party as causes of the blast. Owner Pacific Gas & Electric’s records indicate the pipeline was seamless, but NTSB's report, released on Dec. 14, says a portion near the rupture was seam-welded. The
Officials in Milwaukee County, Wis., plan to let bids in the next two weeks for the repair of a municipal parking structure at O’Donnell Park, where a 27,000-lb precast-concrete facade panel fell off the building and killed a 15-year-old boy and injured two other people last June. The county’s 2011 budget has earmarked $6.5 million for structural work on the garage. + Image Illustration: Courtesy of Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Related Links: CTLGroup Field Inspection INSPEC Structural Evaluation About $3.5 million to $4 million of the repair cost will go to permanently removing all 70 of the ramp’s precast facade panels,
A tower crane collapsed in northeast China on Nov. 20, killing six workers and injuring another. The crane was positioned about 50 meters high, and the victims were working on the tower at the time of the accident. China news service Xinhua cites a statement from Liaoning Province's Work Safety Inspection Bureau noting that four workers died instantly and two others died in a nearby hospital. One man on the ground was hit by falling parts. Local contractor Lufeng Construction & Engineering Ltd. was responsible for the crane and site construction. The accident remains under investigation.
The owner’s investigation continues into why a 275-ft-tall concrete smokestack fell in an unexpected direction when it was imploded on Nov. 11 during demolition of FirstEnergy’s largely unused Mad River powerplant in Springfield, Ohio. Photo: AP Images An unseen crack apparently redirected the force of explosives, altering the tower’s path of descent. No one was hurt, but 4,000 people lost utility power. Because no one was injured in the accident and proper procedures seem to have been followed, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not pursue an inquiry, says an agency spokesman. The plant, about 28 miles northeast of
Construction seems to have been safer in 2009, but federal officials are still concerned about getting the truth from employers about injuries. Related Links: The Prize Predicament: Incentives and Jobsite Safety Fatalities Down, But Rate Stays Flat An indicator of construction jobsite safety showed improvement last year, as the number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses—and the rate per 100 workers—declined in 2009, the Labor Dept. has reported. In its latest annual workplace safety report, released on Oct. 21, the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said that construction injuries and illnesses on the job were down 22% last year, to 251,000.
On Oct. 13, the National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on the Sept. 9 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif., that killed eight people and damaged 55 homes. The report came a day after Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced its new natural-gas pipeline safety measures, known as Pipeline 2020. The explosion of a natural-gas pipeline released 47.6 million standard cubic feet of natural gas, creating a crater 72 ft long by 26 ft wide and throwing a 30-in.-dia, 28-ft segment of the pipe 100 ft. Investigators are looking at the sequence of events that led up
Officials in Marion County, Ore., announced they are forming a task force to meet in January that will advise them on a course of action in the wake of myriad structural and construction flaws on the $34-million, 163,000-sq-ft Salem Courthouse Square and its adjacent bus mall. Officials have deemed the five-story, concrete-framed building unsafe, forcing the relocation earlier this year of 300 occupants. A preliminary report by David Evans and Associates says columns inside the structure are not large enough to handle the loads, and that slabs, which contain inadequate post-tensioning, are not thick enough. The report also claims faulty
Three U.S. companies showcased their engineering expertise as the world watched the dramatic rescue of 33 Chilean gold and copper miners trapped nearly a half-mile underground for more than two months. The miners miraculously survived an Aug. 5 shaft collapse at the San Jose mine in the Atacama desert about 500 miles north of Santiago. Photo: Courtesy Of Center Rock, Inc., Berlin, Pa. American operators used U.S.-made rig and drill bits to bore an escape shaft to miners trapped underground since Aug. 5. Layne Christensen Co., a Mission Woods, Kan.-based firm ranked 18th on ENR’s Top 200 Environmental Firms list,
In the wake of this year’s fatal oil platform explosion and resulting Gulf of Mexico spill—not to mention major refinery accident and pipeline leaks in recent years—under a new CEO, U.K.-based BP PLC is revamping its corporate safety culture. The firm announced late last month a new safety-and-risk division, the function of which will be “embedded” in corporate operating units with “sweeping powers” to oversee, audit and intervene in BP technical activities. “The changes are in areas where I believe we most clearly need to act, with safety and risk management our most urgent priority,” said CEO Bob Dudley, who
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