06.08.2013

Jury demands tougher training

A coroner’s jury in Canada has recommended tougher standards for aerial work platform operator training

The recommendation follows the inquest into the death of Gustavo Argueta, 24, on June 24th 2011 when the boom lift he was using overturned, on the McKenzie River Bridge construction site near Thunder Bay. He is reported to have fallen from a height of 15 metres.

The three day inquest, which concluded last week, ruled that Argueta’s death was accidental. The jury then issued nine recommendations for consideration. These include the development and implementation of a standardised, mandatory operator training, including both practical and theoretical sections specifically tailored for aerial work platforms.
Argueta was using a Genie S-65 owned by Hertz Equipment, to inspect the underside of the new bridge and was operating on a steep slope when it went over.

Inspectors found that the tilt alarm wires had been cut and that the alarm’s siren had been filled with foam. A Hertz mechanic testified that the machine had been in perfect working order when delivered and told the court that the S-65 was totally unsuited to work on the steeply sloping site.
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The McKenzie River Bridge job site

Argueta’s employer TeraNorth Construction was charged with seven offences, including failing to adequately train Argueta , and failing to provide him with information, instruction and supervision with respect to the safe operation of an aerial lift and not ensuring that the platform was being operated on a firm, level surface.

The jury’s recommendations for the Ministry of Labour suggested that it:

• Require persons who are already certified for the competent operation of aerial work platforms be retrained and recertified after a defined period of time.

• Require that training programs developed by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities for aerial lifts be mandatory for workers, and direct supervisors operating such machines in the construction industry.

• Develop rules that deal with the documentation of aerial work platform inspections by operators prior to the initial use on a daily basis.

• Implement stronger minimum penalties for altering or disabling safety mechanisms on equipment.

The jury suggested that the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) investigate, in collaboration with manufacturers, the potential to implement systems and interlocks that enhance the safe use of aerial work platforms.

The jury also recommended contractors hold daily meetings that include both a plan and a discussion of the day’s specific objectives in order to address safety concerns.

Vertikal Comment

The verdict of accidental death is highly debateable in this case, someone on that site should have been aware of the machines limitations or if not called on the rental company to provide advice. Someone on that site also silenced the tilt alarm almost certainly because it was constantly sounding.

All this adds up to a great more than accidental death, on the contrary it was totally avoidable. In spite of calling 15 specialist witnesses the jury also seemed to have been oblivious of the fact that training courses such as those recommended do already exist and that there is a duty for operators to be trained in the safe use of such equipment.