The victim worked on a concrete crew for JE Dunn's subcontractor, Baker Concrete Construction, Wachsnicht said. He said there have been no other fatalities or accidents in more than a year of construction on the project.
OSHA monitoring
OSHA has inspected Baker Concrete Construction Inc. sites six other times since 2015. Three of the cases resulted in four serious violations and initial penalties ranging from $5,500 to $14,000 from the federal agency tasked with enforcing safety and health legislation. Two of those cases are pending, and none of the inspections were at Oklahoma sites.
JE Dunn Construction is responsible for some of the largest construction projects in the United States. It's been inspected by OSHA seven times during the same time period, with none of those inquiries leading to violations or fines. The company keeps 20 offices across the country, including one in Oklahoma City.
A serious violation means OSHA has linked workplace conditions to high probability of death or serious harm.
A man that the JE Dunn spokeswoman said worked as project manager for Baker Concrete declined to comment when reached on his cellphone; the company could not be reached for comment.
One of every five worker deaths is connected to blue-collar construction jobs, according to OSHA.
OSHA issued a hazard alert regarding the use of scissor lifts after analyzing 10 preventable scissor lift deaths and 20 injuries. The agency found employers most often fail to address stabilization, fall protection and positioning.
Wind can make scissor lifts unstable.
In 2010, a University of Notre Dame student who was also an employee died after an untrained worker raised the student 39 feet into the air to film a football practice. The wind gusts that day were more than 50 mph.
The BOK Park Plaza will be anchored by the Bank of Oklahoma and include space leased by Devon Energy Corp. and other office and retail tenants.
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NEWS RELEASE: Fatality Industrial Accident
Date: September 9, 2016
Fatality Industrial Accident
Oklahoma City, OK – A tragic event claimed the life of a man in Oklahoma City on Friday morning. The Oklahoma City Fire Department was called to 499 W. Sheridan Ave. at 11:24 am on an industrial accident. Workers were constructing a new, multi-story building when one of the construction workers somehow drove a scissortail-lift off of the 14th story landing. The man plummeted 14 stories to his death. Nobody on the ground was injured.
Firefighters and Police Officers worked in concert to secure the area. The Fire Department contacted the Medical Examiner and OSHA due to this being an industrial accident.
Family members of the deceased later arrived. The Fire Department Chaplain was on hand to offer grief counseling to the family and coworkers.
The identity of the victim has not been released.
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Dallas Franklin, Updated at 12:15pm, September 9, 2016
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Officials say a construction worker died after a scissor lift fell 14 stories from a building under construction in downtown Oklahoma City.
Around 11:30 a.m., emergency crews were called to reports of an accident near Sheridan and Hudson.
Construction worker dies after scissor lift falls 14 stories
When crews arrived, they learned a man who was operating a scissor lift fell to his death.
The man was reportedly on the 14th story of a building that is currently under construction when the scissor lift fell.
Fire crews say no one else was injured.
Construction workers gathered outside of work zone after scissor lift operator dies
Alvine Engineering collaborated with Pickard Chilton and Kendall/Heaton Associates on the design. JE Dunn Construction is the General Contractor for the project.
It is unclear exactly how the scissor lift fell off the building. But if the lift is overextended, it can lead to its overturn or simply the worker drove it off the side of the building. It has happened before at other JE Dunn Construction sites.
The area is shut down while officials investigate.
OSHA has also been called in to investigate.
No other information has been released at this time.
Fatal construction accident
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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Construction Worker Killed After Falling 14 Stories From Site In Downtown OKC Updated: Sep 09, 2016 1:25 PM EST
By Matthew Nuttle, News9.com
OKLAHOMA CITY - A worker was killed after plunging 14 stories from a building construction site in downtown Oklahoma City on Friday.
It happened at the new Bank of Oklahoma tower being constructed near the intersection of S. Walker Ave. and W. Sheridan Ave.
According to reports, the worker was operating a scissor lift when he drove off the 14 floor of the building. The victim’s identity is not known at this time. No one on the ground was injured.
Authorities have shut down Sheridan Ave. in the area due to the accident. It is unclear when the road will be re-opened.
Keep checking with News 9 and News9.com for more information
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The state's largest bank announced Thursday it is going to consolidate its Oklahoma City operations and become the name anchor tenant in a 27-story tower being built at 499 W Sheridan Ave.
Bank of Oklahoma joins Devon Energy Corp. as the two main tenants in the building, which will be named BOK Park Plaza. The move will involve 111 employees who already work downtown at BOK Plaza, 201 Robert S. Kerr Ave., and 124 employees who work at the Commerce Center building, 9520 N May Ave. in northwest Oklahoma City.
John Higginbotham, Oklahoma City CEO for BOK, made the announcement to employees about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to bring a large number of our Oklahoma City employees together into one space and we feel confident it will create new synergies and foster more collaboration within our workforce,” Higginbotham said. “This will ultimately result in a more cohesive BOK team and provide greater resources and efficiencies to our clients. This relocation represents an investment by BOK in the community and the ongoing renaissance taking place downtown.”
Higginbotham said the relocation also will involve the move of its banking branch to the ground floor at 499 W Sheridan. The company is expected to occupy a total of 100,000 square feet, including the top four floors of the new tower.
“We're excited about having that presence in the skyline,” Higgenbotham said. “As we thought about the name, we liked the idea of the park being built nearby and the renaissance we're seeing … we look at Oklahoma City as a high-growth area.”
Bank of Oklahoma has operations in eight states, its assets total $31 billion, and it is among the top 40 financial institutions in the United States.
BOK Park Plaza is being developed by Hines and designed by architect Jon Pickard, who previously teamed up with Devon Energy on construction of Devon Energy Center. Leasing for the property will be handled by Mark Beffort, CEO of Newmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort. Travis Mason with Commercial Oklahoma assisted Bank of Oklahoma in securing the lease.
“BOK Park Plaza is a welcome addition to the Oklahoma City skyline,” Beffort said. “Its design and infrastructure are an excellent complement to the recently completed Devon Tower. Bank of Oklahoma's occupancy will lead what we expect to be a diverse and outstanding tenant base and amenities.”
The announcement coincides with implosions set for this Sunday for the last two remaining structures on the new tower site — the former Hotel Black and the Motor Hotel.
Beffort said he's not worried about the vacant space that will be created by the move out of BOK Plaza, noting Class A office vacancy is at 3.8 percent.
“It's going to empty out about 75,000 square feet,” Beffort said. “When you look at our total base, over 8 million square feet, it's less than 1 percent. It is first-floor space and it will be very desirable for office and other types of uses. If I owned that building, I'd think I could find an alternative use in a short period of time.”
Move was anticipated
Rainey Williams, who owns BOK Plaza, said he was anticipating the announcement.
“We have known that BOK intended to move for some time,” Williams said. “While we are disappointed to see them leave, their space was significantly reduced at the time of our purchase in 2007 and the majority of the building is occupied by a diverse group of other tenants.
"We are confident that we will be able to fill the space in due course.”
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Glass is starting to go up on the BOK Park Plaza tower as work continues on the 27-story tower and two adjoining parking garages.
The tower is up to 12 stories, and new floors are starting to go up an average of about every one to two weeks.
Crews with JE Dunn Construction have topped off the nine-story garage at the southwest corner of Main Street and Hudson. Much of the Sheridan Avenue side of the west garage at Walker and Sheridan also can be seen extending to the corner that was once occupied by Union Bus Station.
BOK Park Plaza will be home to the consolidated Oklahoma City operations of Bank of Oklahoma and also will include 250,000 square feet leased by Devon Energy Corp., and additional space available for office and retail
tenants.
The tower, once built, is set to become the sixth-tallest building in the city with a height of 430 feet. The building will total 700,000 square feet. The building is expected to be complete by early 2018.
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BOK Park Plaza Underway in Oklahoma City
Posted: July 6, 2016
The tenth floor is being poured at the BOK Park Plaza 27 story office tower in Oklahoma City.
Alvine Engineering collaborated with Pickard Chilton and Kendall/Heaton Associates on the design. JE Dunn Construction is the General Contractor for the project.
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Similar accidents have happened throughout the US
The Kansas City Star reported that one man was killed and another critically injured when a boom lift or crane toppled over at the site of Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.
A construction accident at the future home of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts killed one man and critically injured a second this afternoon.
A portable boom lift with a basket on top toppled over about 1:45 p.m. just north of the building under construction at 16th Street and Broadway. Both workers were in the basket before it plummeted about 50 feet to the pavement, said Kyle McQuiston with J.E. Dunn Construction Co.
The workers apparently fell from the basket on the way down, police said.
The injured workers were taken to area hospitals. One died at the hospital, Kansas City police said. The other was conscious in serious condition this afternoon, police said.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these workers. Construction workers rely on their equipment to protect them and no worker should be forced to face the danger of falling to their death.
One has to ask — why do these crane accidents keep happening? There was a crane collapse in Westin, Missouri just last year. In that collapse, one worker was killed and three other workers were injured. There have been similar crane and boom lift accidents in Oklahoma City, in Florida, and in Philadelphia.
In my work, I see far too many deaths from crane accidents and lift accidents. Each of these deaths or injuries was easily and tragically preventable.
In a recent case we handled, a repairman was working on a similar type crane/boom lift. The repairman extended the boom to test his repair and the crane suddenly tipped over, crushing and killing him. Why don’t these manufacturers implement simple safety measures to prevent tragedies like this from happening?
Instead of fixing the problems, these cranes and lifts are often designed without adequate safety protections. For example, in our recent case, the crane was not equipped with a device that prevented the boom from being extended without the outriggers being firmly locked in place. Many other cranes had a safety device that would have prevented the accident, but the crane manufacturer decided it was wasn’t worth the cost.
The news report was unclear as to the cause of the crane accident at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. But is makes you wonder. Could the boom extend without the outriggers deployed to stabilize the crane? Was the crane situated on uneven ground? Was the lift maintained correctly? Did the hydraulics fail? Remarkably, none of the other co-workers saw the crane tip over. Why?
You can learn more about dangerous and defect products — including cranes and lifts — at our safety blog or at our web site.
I have worked for J.E. Dunn in the past and worked on these boom lifts, Dunn follows osha saftey procedures in requiring harnesses to be worn by anyone riding these lifts. It has always been my concern that, when the lanyard is attached to the basket it can prevent a fatalfall when leaning out to do work where you may slip and fall out of the basket. However as the requirment mandates that the lanyard be secured to the basket at all times if the lift itself tips over it prohidits you from being able to jump from the basket to a secure point such as in this case these men may have been able to jump or grab onto the deck or steel they were securing the sheet metal to. The mandated wearing of the lanyard leaves them only the option of being drug down with the lift.
I am concerned about the confusion in the media between crane and aerial lift accidents. Aerial lifts are used to elevate personnel, whereas cranes are predominantly used to lift materials (although some cranes can have manbaskets to lift personnel). In construction, there are about 42 crane-related and 26 aerial lift-related deaths per year.
Hmm, seems we have many “experts” chiming in now.
First, the welder someone identified in the basket/platform is a JLG factory product called SkyWelder. It eliminates dangerous leads that often get entangled in the lift or a passing vehicle that can pull a lift over. See it at http://www.jlg.com
Second, if the platform is overloaded this machine will not extend or go up, but will only retract or go down. This machine, like many others of its kind, “knows” the weight in the platform.
Third, the harness/lanyard comment about not being hooked to the platform when a tip over occurs and having the option to jump off if the lift tips. REALLY!!! That only happens in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. I doubt very much that in real life anyone would have the presence of mind to jump and even then jump where. Most people would just white knuckle the rails until it hit the ground. The real purpose of the harness/lanyard is NOT fall protection but catapult protection. It is supposed to keep you inside the protection of the guardrails (THE fall protection) should the machine catapult you up and out. Most catapults are the result of driving too fast and/or driving one wheel into a depression or up and down a curb. If you want to see a video of this go to http://www.awpt.org and roll your mouse over “Publications” the click on drop down “Film” click on “Only dummies don’t where harnesses on a booms”
Fourth, while this accident is tragic and we to extend our sorrow to the families for their loss, tip-overs of aerial lifts are pretty rare, especially boom type lifts.