Archinect - News

OSHA cites 11 firms in connection to Hard Rock New Orleans lethal collapse

2020-04-07T12:00:00-04:00

After a months-long investigation, OSHA has cited and fined 11 firms in connection with the October 2019 partial collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans. The agency has proposed fines totaling $315,536, and all companies have 15 days to contest the monetary fines and citations.

According to Construction Dive, the following firms have been cited by OSHA:

Heaslip Engineering LLC drew the largest fine, $154,214, and the only willful citation among the group.
Suncoast Projects LLC, dba Hub Steel, based in Groveland, Florida, had the second-highest total fines of $37,191.
OSHA also cited general contractor Citadel Builders LLC for not providing the temporary lighting necessary for safe egress; for not marking exits with visibly marked signage; and for not ensuring that drawings or plans for beam shoring were available at the jobsite, reports Construction Dive.
REY.CO Inc. ($23,697)
F. Mata Masonry LLC ($12,723)
King Company LLC ($12,145)
Hutco Inc. ($10,794)
Regional Mechanical Services LLC ($9.446)
Rush Masonry Inc. ($9.446)
Southern Services and Equipment Inc. ($9,446)
S&S Construction and Consulting LLC ($8,096).

All fines were in connection to various job-site deficiencies and alleged violations discovered in the investigation.

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Families sue following Google site crane collapse in Seattle last year

2020-01-14T13:07:00-05:00

Family members of two of the four people killed in the April crane collapse site have filed wrongful death suits against companies involved in crane operations at the South Lake Union construction site. Gusting winds knocked the crane over the afternoon of April 27, after workers prematurely removed pins holding 20-foot sections together, leading to a tragedy that state regulators called “totally avoidable.”

The collapse in April killed two iron workers, Andrew Yoder, 31, and Travis Corbet, 33; Alan Justad, 71, a former city planning official; and Sarah Wong, a 19-year-old Seattle Pacific University student, The Seattle Times reports.

The families have filed suites against Morrow Equipment, GLY Construction, Northwest Tower Crane Service, Omega Morgan, and Seaburg Construction, all responsible for operating and dismantling the crane, The Seattle Times writes.

"Human error" cited as cause for deadly 2019 crane collapse in Seattle

2019-10-23T18:43:00-04:00

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) announced Thursday that it has cited and fined three contractors a total of $107,200 in relation to April's deadly tower crane collapse at a Google office project. in Seattle. The crash to the street below killed two workers and two people in cars.

According to Construction Dive, the tragic event that occurred in April was due to the project "contractors and their workers [ignoring] the manufacturers instructions for dismantling the crane by removing almost all of the tower's pins and sleeves at the same time." It is reported that this weakened the crane and caused it to fall after a 45-mph gust of wind struck it.

Collapsing crane kills four at new Seattle Google campus

2019-04-29T13:25:00-04:00

Seattle’s construction frenzy turned deadly Saturday afternoon when a tower crane working on a new Google campus fell like a thunderbolt from the roof of a South Lake Union building, smashing into six cars and killing four people.

"The four-building, 607,000-square-foot project will house a new Google Seattle campus, and also include about 150 new apartments," reports The Seattle Times about the tragic incident at a South Lake Union site at Fairview Avenue and Mercer Street. "Construction began in 2017 and is set to be finished this year. Google had put its name on the building in the last few days."

Washington state officials have launched an investigation.

Construction webcam shows before and after of the deadly crane collapse in Seattle this afternoon. At least 4 people are dead https://t.co/YIcT09LpNY pic.twitter.com/Ywoe9VH7Nv
— Mike Rosenberg (@ByRosenberg) April 28, 2019

Judge faults crane operator and DOB inspectors in deadly 2016 Tribeca crane collapse

2018-04-16T13:28:00-04:00

In 2016, a Manhattan crane collapse in Tribeca killed one person, seriously injured two others and left another with minor injuries. Workers were trying to secure the crane against winds by lowering the boom when the crane collapsed to the ground. The accident was caused by a series of operator errors including a failure to properly secure the crane overnight and lowering it at the wrong angle.

Last week, New York judge Ingrid Addison issued a 68-page decision that faults operator Kevin Reilly for the collapse and approves the yanking of his license. Addison also faulted the Department of Building for signing off on inadequate plans and ripped the department for arguing that they are "not responsible for ensuring plans are safe for New Yorkers."

Hurricane Irma causes three construction cranes to collapse in South Florida

2017-09-11T14:45:00-04:00

The wildly swinging booms of three cranes at under-construction residential buildings in South Florida bent and collapsed in Hurricane Irma’s heavy winds Sunday. [...] The cranes are a symbol of the luxury real estate development that drives South Florida’s economy, attracting millions of dollars in foreign investment, even as home prices soar out of reach for locals. The construction industry has fought against stricter regulation of the towering cranes.

While the whole extent of destruction that Hurricane Irma caused throughout Florida, Georgia, and various islands of the northern Caribbean in the past few days is still not entirely clear, the strength of the storm can be adumbrated by the three construction cranes that collapsed in the greater Miami area yesterday.

Why cranes keep collapsing, despite "sophisticated equipment"

2016-03-07T14:20:00-05:00

As cranes have grown in height and girth, the controls to operate them have intensified in number and complexity...the crane units in use these days have libraries of intricate manuals, packed with details...some operators may not have time to fully understand or read completely. Same goes for the maintenance team. When something does go wrong with such large machines...the 'mess and carnage' gets magnified.

Crane safety experts give their thoughts on the leading causes of crane collapses, and why safety regulation is more complex than it seems.

Previous news about collapses:

Crane collapses in Manhattan, one dead and two seriously injured

More than 50 dead after crane collapses on Mecca's Grand Mosque

13 lawsuits emerge after deadly balcony collapse in Berkeley

Three killed after partial stadium collapse at 2014 World Cup venue

Crane collapses in Manhattan, one dead and two seriously injured

2016-02-05T20:25:00-05:00

The Associated Press reported that the person killed was a Wall Street worker sitting in a parked car. [...] The accident happened as workers were trying to secure the crane against winds around 20 mph by lowering the boom, which had been extended to as long as 565 feet the day before, officials said. Because the crane was being lowered, workers were directing pedestrians away from it on a street that otherwise would likely have been teeming with people.

A couple of nearby construction workers took video of the collapse on a cellphone – you can watch that here.