16.08.2006

Bad luck or bad management?

The USA Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued three citations, including one classified as ‘willful’, OSHA’s most serious classification which carries a $56,000 fine, against Thomas Industrial Coatings, a Missouri based bridge-painting company.

The citations concern an incident on February 17th when Jimmy Belfield, 39, of Cadet, Mo., fell around 30 metres into the Mississippi River from a temporary work platform on the Jefferson Barracks Bridge in south St. Louis County.

Belfield fell while trying to rescue three co-workers left dangling in their safety harnesses after a platform gave way under them. The three were eventually rescued, but Belfield's body wasn't recovered for two months.

In addition to the willful citation, two others, each classified as "serious" with penalties of $4,200 each, fault the company for not having Belfield protected by personal equipment to prevent falls.

OSHA is also investigating the deaths of two other Thomas employees who died in falls on May 10th and July 5th from the Lexington Avenue Bridge in Kansas City.

In May, Dan Denzer, 47, of Arkansas, died after falling through a hole in a platform while painting the underside of the bridge. Then less than eight weeks later, Andy Wilson, 49, died after falling from the same bridge.

"The company certainly has to look itself in the mirror every day and figure out what went wrong, because three fatalities is way too many for any company," said Bill McDonald, director of the St. Louis-area OSHA office.

The most significant citation, the one classified as "willful" concerns the fact that a lifesaving boat was not immediately available to rescue employees in the event of a fall from the temporary, suspended platform beneath the bridge.

Wayne Long, Thomas Industrial's safety manager, told the local paper that a small boat was stationed near the workers for use in case of an emergency. but added that the boat was not staffed as federal regulations didn't require it.

Thomas Industrial Coatings issued a statement saying that the company has long required its workers to follow safety regulations and would emphasize those rules again.

OSHA's regulations are clear: Companies must ensure the safety of workers when they're above ground. Harnesses aren't required if employers provide another form of protection, such as guardrails or safety nets. The minimum height for the safety precautions can range from 6 to 10 feet, depending on whether the workers are on scaffolds.

OSHA also requires employers to provide safety training to employees before they are exposed to fall hazards -- and to retrain employees who forget those safety standards.

If a worker doesn't comply with the rules, the employer must take prompt action to ensure safety. The agency can sanction and fine companies that violate the regulations.

According to local reports Thomas Industrial, contested OSHA's findings in the 1990’s following the deaths of two employees who fell from Missouri bridges. Both of those men - Steve Cook of Pevely and Michael Plank of Steelville - were found without safety harnesses or life jackets. In both cases, the fines were reduced.

Vertikal Comment

Loosing three experienced staff in less than six months is a crime; Access technology is developed enough that falls from such jobs should be a very rare and exceptional occurrence.

With proper work platforms used there is really no need for life boats to be positioned below the bridge.

How a company that had seen two employees fall to their deaths can allow the same thing to happen on three separate occasions barely ten years later beggars’ belief. One wonders what changes, if any Thomas has made to its access methods

This surely is a case where manslaughter charges should be considered.