Monday, April 6, 2015

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION: CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN DIES AFTER STRUCK BY STEEL PILE







A 43-year old male construction foreman was killed when he was struck by a falling steel I-beam pile.  The victim worked for a construction company in northern New Jersey.   

On the day of the incident, the victim and four other workers were in the process of pile-driving steel I-beam piles into several pits (each pit containing either three or eight piles) at the construction site of a large parking garage.

The victim’s job was to stand in the pit and guide the beam that was being hoisted by the pile driver (which functions as a crane and a hammer) to the appropriate location to be hammered.

While the victim was guiding the pile, before it was properly located, the hammer dropped from its upper position.  Since the pile was not in the proper location, the hammer struck the pile on its side, instead of the top. 
The fatal injury occurred when the beam then fell to the side, striking the victim.

We recommend following the following safety guidelines to prevent similar deadly accidents:


  • Employers should ensure that pile driver operators are properly trained on the safe operation of the pile driving equipment;
  • Employers should ensure that pile driver operators are periodically re-evaluated on the safe operation of pile driving equipment;
  • A health and safety plan based on job hazard analysis must be developed and followed;
  • Employers should incorporate specific procedures when a worker is inside an excavation pit into the health and safety plan.  Here, the conditions at the bottom of the pit were muddy and could have hindered the egress of the unfortunate victim