22.01.2013
Death Wish on high profile site
We have received a photo taken at the site of an environmental building going up in California that we are told is being filmed for television.
The work at height methods though are very much below third world standards.
In the photo we have been sent one man is sitting on an I-beam to connect the steel work, it looks as though he used a wooden stepladder balanced on a wall to reach the top of the beam. Another man is preparing to use a ladder leant against a single vertical post.
Please register to see all images
Spot the errors - this has to be one of the worst sites we have seen in a long time
Our research revealed other photographs on a web site that we are unable to reproduce here as they are copyrighted. The site includes even worse examples than the one taken by our correspondent.
Click here to go to the web site to see more
The building is a new home for actor Ed Bagley Jnr which is being built to LEED certified standards in Los Angeles and filmed for a television programme and web programme. And yet the work at height standards are dreadful.
The men putting their lives at risk are equipped with hard hats, work boots and gloves.. none of which will help if they fall of course. Hopefully an enterprising local rental company will make contact with the builder and discuss work at height equipment for the rest of this project or his next one.
A most definite and shocking Death Wish example in the state where powered access originated.
We have written to the show pointing out these failings.
Vertikal Comment
This example shows that there is still a great deal to do to spread the word about high efficiency/safe access equipment. It is amazing in this day and age that a building contractor and his employees would even consider the sort of unsafe work at height practices shown in the photographs, and one assumes, on the film.
Ryan
Here is a copy-paste of what I posted on their pic after reading the VP's ludicrous rebuttal to an earlier comment posted there.
Ryan Lee says:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
January 28, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Mr. Harris, a better response would have been an apology and a promise to work safely in the future. Clearly you should know that using an a-frame ladder in any way other than fully extended and locked is a willful violation (3 are pictured being used incorrectly here!), as is working over 6′ from the ground without fall protection and it is easy to see that the man on the left is not wearing an approved fall arrest system. Should I mention the 20′ extension ladder leaning on the column with its foot spikes folded up in the smooth floor configuration on loose rock? Also, there is plenty of room on both sides of your building footprint for a 60′ manlift to roll back and forth. While I’m at it, I might add that 2″ binder straps are not taglines and that the use of synthetic slings on I-beams is a good way to kill someone as well. There are no softeners on the slings pictured here and your two leg choke looks to be spread a little farther than 60 degrees, not good.
I doubt that my $.02 will be posted here. Do things the right way and you won’t have to worry about stuffing your foot in your mouth with a ridiculous rebuttal to a comment like Leigh’s above. You are wrong, your jobsite as pictured is unsafe, and I see gross negligence and willful violations from the gate to the camera. It might be hard for you to admit, Mr VP, but you are wrong like the rest of us sometimes.
Kudos to Leigh with her on-point observation and realistic comment.