Structural Concrete, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Sep 14, 1999: Employee's back injured in fall from concrete form

Employee #1 was part of a concrete crew for Structural Concrete, Inc., that erec ted the formwork for an approximately 83 ft by 44 ft cast-in-place residential b asement foundation. They were preparing to pour the wall using a truck-mounted P utzmiester concrete pump, model BSF 32.16H, serial #2198060053, to deliver the c oncrete to the wall form. Employee #1 climbed atop a 7 ft 10 in. tall, 28 ft lon g section of the formwork and shouldered the 10 ft long by 4 in. diameter flexib le boom hose tip (called the elephant's trunk) to pull the hose to the corner of the foundation. Before the crew foreman could warn Employee #1, the pump operat or engaged the pump and the section of the flexible hose he was carrying filled with concrete. Employee #1 was knocked off the formwork wall and fell to the gro und, suffering soft tissue injuries to his back. The manufacturer's published sa fety regulations stated that personnel must stay clear of the flexible hose tip whenever the pump is started or if the pump becomes clogged. The formwork manufa cturer, Symons Silver Systems, provided scaffold brackets that, as per their lit erature, enabled the user to meet OSHA requirements. The employer's representati ves later acknowledged the hazards, but stated that no training had been provide d to employees. Further, there was no fall protection in place. Appropriate cita tions were recommended for apparent violations of fall protection, PPE, safety p rogram, training and hazard communication standards.