Long after this project is built, no one will remember us. If someone dies, they will remember that forever.

- Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Safety Director (months prior to the collapse) -

This class will take as its starting point the July 14, 1999 catastrophic failure of the Lampson Transi-Lift 2600 Crane (known as "Big Blue") during the construction of the Milwaukee Brewers' Miller Park Stadium.

    Click Here for the video   

The video is shot by OSHA compliance officers. They were at the site to investigate visible fall hazards unrelated to this lift. A few things to notice while watching this 1:16 footage:

• Beginning  - Middle right of the screen

A flag of sorts gives a sense of wind conditions that day.

• 0:30 – Audio

The crane starts breaking apart and it can be CLEARLY heard! There may be no need to draw attention to it. The popping of connections just gets louder (“What the hell was that?” 0:45).

• 0:52 - Bottom of the screen, about ¼ up

One of the crane operators (several are required for a crane this size); this gives a sense of scale. The tracks of the crane are taller than he is.

• 0:56 - Left of Collapsing Roof Section  

The top of the boom of another crane (inside the stadium bowl); three ironworkers, suspended from it on a personnel hoist, were waiting to attach the roof section being lifted. That crane was struck by Big Blue and the men were killed.

NB - It is important to remember those who lost their lives. They were Ironworkers Jeff Wischer, William DeGrave, and Jerome Starr.

It can be argued that this site in general, and this "pick" in particular, should have been among the safest in the industry:

• Miller Park was under scrutiny from many angles at its inception. Financing was an issue and local sales taxes were increased to pay for construction. Few things raise public awareness like a tax hike.

• A pre-lift meeting had taken place that morning; well in advance of what now would be required by the new OSHA Crane Standard (subpart CC [1926.1400] enacted November 8, 2010).  

• OSHA compliance officers were onsite that day conducting a programmed inspection (they shot the footage). 

Though over a half-million dollars in fines from 'willful' and 'serious' citations were levied, OSHA is limited by federal law in issuing its findings. According to Section 9 of the OSH Act, "no citation may be issued under this section after the expiration of six months following the occurence of any violation" [emphasis added]. This is not enough time to truly determine liability. OSHA focused on, "general requirements relating to safe operation of cranes and personnel platforms..." According to OSHA's Milwaukee Area Director George Yoksas, "compliance with OSHA requirements would likely have prevented this tragedy... failure to take the effect of wind into account was a significant factor in the collapse of the crane."

Click Here for the OSHA News Release Regarding the Tragedy

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This class is intended as an introduction to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR §1926 - Standards for the Construction Industry.

After successful completion, participants will receive the OSHA '10-hour card' stating that the individual "has successfully completed a 10-hour Occupational Safety and Health Training Course in Construction."  This card is issued by OSHA.

• ATTENDANCE AT ALL  SESSIONS WILL BE MANDATORY IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE 10-HOUR CARD.   
• PARTICIPANTS MUST PASS A TEST IN ORDER TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE COURSE AND RECEIVE THE 10 HOUR CARD.

Click here for more info about OSHA Outreach Training   

OSHA requires that certain topics be covered and allows some flexibility with others. The options are as follows:

Required Topics:

• Introduction to OSHA [2 Hours]
• OSHA "Focus Four Hazards"

1. Falls and Fall Protection [1 Hour, 15 Min]
2. Electrical Hazards   [1/2 Hour]
3. "Caught Between" Hazards [1/2 Hour]
4. "Struck By" Hazards [1/2 Hour]

• Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment [1/2 Hour]
• Hazard Communication (Hazcom) and Silica [1/2 Hour]

Two Hours From (at least 2 topics, minimum 1/2 hour each) :

• Materials Handling, Storage, Use and Disposal
• Tools - Hand and Power Tools
• Scaffolds
• Cranes, Derricks, Hoists, and Elevators
• Excavations
• Stairways and Ladders

Optional (Other OSHA Hazards and Policies) :

Anything in the OSHA construction standard is fair game.

  Click Here for a list of OSHA 1926 Construction Regulations

The OSHA regulations are broken up into various subparts; e.g., Subpart "F" covers fire protection and prevention. Training regulations allow the class to be tailored to the needs of the participants; as long as the above-listed prerequisites are met and the class totals ten hours.

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The link above displays OSHA 1926 Construction Regulations and this is the focus of this group. Most construction regulations are vertical standards ; i.e., they apply only the construction industry. There are similar vertical standards that essentially apply only to Agriculture (OSHA 1928) or Marine Terminals (OSHA 1917) etc.

Many OSHA regulations are horizontal standards (such as OSHA required record keeping or OSHA inspection procedures) that apply to all businesses covered by the OSH Act.

Participants may purchase a hard copy of the OSHA 1926 regulations. They are available at Amazon or Ebay. The published versions contain the horizontal standards in addition to the construction regulations.

I recommend the version published by Mancomm Communications available from the Construction Safety Council (CSC) Bookstore.  It is the version I am most familiar with and contains all the vertical and horizontal standards that will be covered in this group. It is also less espensive at the CSC.  

 
Click here for a direct link to the text at the CSC bookstore