C W Wright Construction Co LLC: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Jun 19, 2010 (fatal): Employee is killed in fall from pole tower

On June 19, 2010, an employee was painting while located on a transmission power pole at an elevation of about 55-ft to 65-ft. The employee's personal fall arre st system failed, and the employee fell to the ground and was killed.

Incident on Dec 1, 2008 (fatal): Employee is electrocuted while installing utility pole

Employee #1 was installing a new 40 utility pole to replace an older utility pol e. He was using a boom truck with a claw attached to the end of the boom to set the pole into place. The pole was elevated with a winch that was attached to the boom and the pole was to be placed inside the claw when it reached a suitable h eight. After elevating the pole, it rested on the outside of the claw and had to be maneuvered to be placed inside the claw. Employee #1 placed his unprotected hands on the pole to maneuver it, causing the top of the pole to come into conta ct with the hose shielding the overhead 19,900 Volt power line. As a result of t he contact, Employee #1 was electrocuted.

Incident on Jan 27, 2005 (fatal): Electric shock - direct contact with overhead line

A power line worker was working from an aerial lift, transferring an overhead po wer line from one utility pole to another. He was removing rubber insulating lin e hose from the power line. As he was removing the line hose for the second phas e conductor, his back contacted the unprotected conductor. He was electrocuted. (He also fell from the aerial lift bucket to the ground.)

Incident on Jun 4, 2002 (fatal): Fall - aerial lift failure

Two power line workers (Employees #1 and #2) were in a 45.7-meter Condor aerial lift transferring insulated conductors and replacing horizontal support arms on 38.1-meter-tall steel towers supporting a 230-kilovolt overhead power line along a 37-kilometer right-of-way. Another crew, working from a similar aerial lift, was assisting the employees. The employees were using full body harnesses connec ted by lanyards to the aerial lift platform. Both platforms were about 24 meters above the ground so that the employees could work on the insulator and lower su pport arm, which were located on the west side of a tower. As employees #1 and # 2 started to elevate and extend their platform, a pop was heard, originating fro m where the upper jib was attached to the vertical frame of the main boom assemb ly. The upper jib boom and the platform, with the two employees still tied off, fell to the ground. The two employees were taken to a hospital, where employee # 1 was pronounced dead on arrival. Employee #2 was airlifted to a shock-trauma ce nter, where he died of his injuries 6 days after the accident.

Incident on Aug 2, 2001 (fatal): Electric shock - induced current in overhead line

Three employees were working from an aerial lift on a 21-meter-tall steel electr ic transmission tower. The employees were unable to extend the aerial lift bucke t to the area where a grounding jumper was to be disconnected. To access the jum per, one of the employees decided to climb onto the tower. He transferred onto a crossmember on the deenergized side of the tower. His left foot slipped from th e crossmember. Although he was tied off to the structure, his left leg contacted a wind brace while his right forearm touched one of the deenergized overhead po wer line conductors. This conductor was energized by induced current, and the em ployee was electrocuted.

Incident on Jul 10, 1989 (fatal): Electric shock - direct contact with energized conductor

A POWER LINE WORKER WAS WORKING ON A 240/120-VOLT POWER LINE ON A HOT HUMID DAY. HE HAD BEEN USING RUBBER INSULATING GLOVES BUT, DURING A BREAK, REMOVED THEM. W HEN HE RESUMED WORKING, HE DID NOT PUT HIS RUBBER GLOVES BACK ON. THE EMPLOYEE G RABBED THE 120-VOLT LINE CONDUCTOR AND THE NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR SIMULTANEOUSLY AND WAS ELECTROCUTED.

Incident on Sep 10, 1986: Crane operator injured when crane tilted into load

AT APPROXIMATELY 9 AM ON SEPTEMBER 10, 1986, EMPLOYEE #1 WAS USING A MODEL PM 20 1 "POLE-MASTER" AS A TRUCK CRANE, ATTEMPTING TO UNLOAD A 5 FOOT CLAM BUCKET FROM A TRUCK PARKED BESIDE IT. THE CLAM BUCKET WEIGHED APPROXIMATELY 3515 LBS., WELL WITHIN THE CRANE'S CAPACITY. THE CRANE WAS RATED AT 9500 POUNDS. THE CRANE WAS SET UP ON SOFT, UNSTABLE GROUND (THERE WAS SOME STANDING WATER AT THE SITE). BOT H OF THE CRANE'S OUTRIGGERS WERE DOWN, BUT THERE WAS NO PAD UNDER THE LEFT OUTRI GGER AND ONLY A 19 INCH LONG 4 BY 4 UNDER THE RIGHT OUTRIGGER. THE CLAMBUCKET WA S ATTACHED TO THE LOADLINE. EMPLOYEE #1 TOLD THE TRUCK DRIVER TO PULL HIS TRUCK OUT FROM UNDER THE BUCKET AS SOON AS IT WAS LIFTED OFF THE TRUCK BED. EMPLOYEE # 1 WAS OPERATING THE CRANE CONTROLS FROM A POSITION NEXT TO THE LOADED TRUCK. WHE N THE TRUCK MOVED FORWARD ABOUT TEN OR TWELVE FEET THE RIGHT OUTRIGGER SANK INTO THE SOFT GROUND. THE CRANE TILTED TOWARD THE SIDE OF THE TRUCK, PINNING EMPLOYE E #1 BETWEEN THE 2 VEHICLES. HE SUFFERED A BROKEN JAW, CRUSHED RIGHT HAND, 4 OR 5 BROKEN RIBS ON HIS RIGHT SIDE AND COLLAPSED LUNGS. THE ACCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY THE INSTALLATION OF AN INSUFFICIENT PAD UNDER THE RIGHT OUTRIGGER, AND THE FACT THAT THE OPERATION WAS ATTEMPTED AN UNSTABLE SOIL SURFACE. THERE WAS AN APPARENT LACK OF PROPER TRAINING BY THE EMPLOYER.