Related Links: Full Research Report CBQ Infographic: Practices Found Most Effective to Increasing Productivity Safety-Incentive Programs Questioned Behavior-Based Safety Programs Can Keep Ambulances Away Safety management practices are of particular importance to today's construction industry. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that construction worker fatalities declined 23% from 2008 to 2011, representing 235 fewer fatalities. However, with McGraw Hill Construction Dodge construction starts showing a 21% decrease during this same time, it's unclear whether the industry is making true strides toward improved safety.The good news is that the industry is reporting significant benefits resulting from safety management programs. Research
Bigge Crane & Rigging Co. and a company engineer, Claus Frederiksen, are the targets of a lawsuit, filed by both Entergy Arkansas and Entergy Operations, that claims the heavy-lift contracting giant failed to perform a load test prior to a fatal crane collapse at the two-unit Arkansas Nuclear One station on March 31.The lawsuit, filed on July 12 in Pope County Circuit Court, accuses Bigge, one of the largest in its sector in the U.S., of "gross negligence."Through a spokesman, Bigge declined to comment.Entergy Arkansas and Entergy Operations—owner and operator, respectively, of the Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO) station—demand a jury
AP Photo One of the bolts may have sheared, causing beams and metal decking to collapse at the site of the seven-story Science Education and Research Center. A failed beam connector may have caused the collapse of part of a steel frame at a building under construction at Temple University in Philadelphia. One worker was injured.Ironworkers were working on the fifth floor of the seven-story Science Education and Research Center on July 11, when beams and portions of the corrugated metal deck fell to the floor below, according to Michael Richey, battalion chief at the Philadelphia Fire Dept.“Initial indications are
Related Links: Inspector in Deadly Philadelphia Collapse Kills Self Engineer Cited in Fatal Ontario Mall Rooftop-Garage Collapse Has May 15 Court Date Philadelphia officials are grappling with possible new procedures for demolition and inspections following a June 5 building collapse that killed six people and injured 13 in Center City, all while grieving the loss of one of their own inspectors.Philadelphia Licenses & Inspections staffer Ronald Wagenhoffer was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on June 12. On May 14, Wagenhoffer, 52, was the last city official to inspect the site, following a complaint. He reported no violations.Deputy
Related Links: Inspector in Philadelphia Building Collapse Commits Suicide/Associated Press A veteran building inspector for Philadelphia who had checked a building prior to its deadly collapse has been found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to city officials. He was identified as Ronald Wagenhoffer, 52.The Associated Press reported that he was found shot in the chest in a truck Wednesday night and that the longtime employee with the Department of Licenses and Inspections had inspected the building May 14 and signed off on demolition work underway, after getting complaints about the site from the public, according to Deputy Mayor
Photo by Andrea Burdett for ENR; inset by Bryan Caniff Family's lawsuit contends that a freestanding flight-monitor structuresuch as this one, which has added temporary wall support (circled)had design changes and construction omissions. Related Links: Lawsuit of Bresette family against Birmingham, Ala. airport renovation construction team members Details Emerge Slowly on Fatal Airport Sign Collapse The Kansas family of a child who was killed when a 300-lb. freestanding flight display collapsed in March at the Birmingham, Ala., airport has sued for unspecified damages the architect, engineers and contractors involved in the terminal's recent renovation.The lawsuit, filed on June 5 in
Rendering courtesy of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet The Lagoon Bridge, now under construction near Kentucky Lake, is the first phase of the replacement for the Eggners Ferry Bridge over the Tennessee River. Related Links: After Quick Fix, Kentucky Span Replacement Starts in October Shipwreck Log posts for MV Delta Mariner The Delta Mariner cargo-ship bridge crew relied on a contract pilot’s direction and didn’t use all the written and electronic navigation charts available before the ship collided with the Eggner’s Ferry Bridge near Aurora, Ky., the National Transportation Safety Board says.The agency’s investigation of the January 2012 incident found fault with
NORR Engineering The 2012 accident sent debris crashing through two floors of the shopping center, killing two and injuring numerous others. Related Links: Elliot Lake Inquiry website/PDF of Norr Ltd. forensic engineering report of Algo Centre Mall collapse In the northern provincial town of Elliott Lake on May 15, the former head of a now defunct Ontario engineering firm will appear in court to face charges related to the June 2012 collapse of a local mall's rooftop parking structure that resulted in two deaths and other injuries.Ontario's Ministry of Labor announced on April 22 that it had charged Robert Wood—a
Related Links: Demo Crew Member Killed at Gatlinburg, Tenn., Plant Where Two Workers Died Last Year Tennessee Contractor Fined $7,150 for Bridge Fatality Two workers were killed and a third injured when a 25-foot wall collapsed at a Goodwill Industries building under construction in Hendersonville, Tenn.The April 18 incident killed Joel Pineda Muniz, 24, of Nashville and Jose P. Velasco-Sanagustin, 37, of Bethpage, Tenn. The third man, Jeff Costello, 44, of Scottsville, Ky., was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville and was released the next day.Costello and Velasco-Sanagustin were employed by Thorne’s Excavating Co. of Lebanon, Tenn., and
Photo by Andrea Burdett for ENR; inset by Bryan Caniff Birmingham, Ala. attorney says free-standing flight monitor structure, on which temporary wall support (circle inset) was added, isn't subject to building code enforcement; structures now have been taken down in the airport. Related Links: Father Grieves Son Killed by Sign Collapse (CNN) Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport Modernization Project Airport and city officials in Birmingham, Ala., are providing few details on what caused a 300-lb free-standing flight information display to topple onto a visiting family from Kansas City, leaving a 10-year-old dead and his mother and siblings seriously injured.Participants confirm a probe
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