Page 143 - Urban Construction Project Management

102 Chapter Five
killed 4 workers and injured 30 others. OSHAwas involved in the investigation of the col-
lapse and found that the engineer’s design for slab reinforcing bar connections to the main
structural wall were not followed and proper shoring was not installed. There were some
indications that the contractors were trying to expedite the garage construction in order to
meet a March 2004 hotel opening date. Based on the events and subsequent investigations
by OSHA, numerous agencies, and consulting firms, the following were the adverse
results of this tragic accident:

1. Four workers were killed.
2. Thirty workers were injured.
3. Four construction firms were fined $119,000 by OSHA (maximum under the current
guidelines at that time).
4. Lawsuits were settled for $101 million (one of the largest settlements for a construc-
tion “accident”).
5. The project was delayed.
6. The garage was reconstructed.

This is a tragic example of what can happen when proper safety precautions are not
addressed and the contractors do not follow the engineer’s drawings.

On March 15, 2008, a crane collapsed in a dense neighborhood of New York City killing
seven people (five were from the crane rigging company, one was the crane operator, and
one was a woman staying in one of the buildings that was hit by the crane’s tower). The
collapse occurred when the riggers were jumping the tower crane and placing the support
collar onto the building structure. The collar broke away from the riggers (supposedly due
to a faulty $50 nylon sling), slid down the crane’s support tower, and caused the other sup-
port collars to break away from the building. The tower crane became unstable and fell
into several apartment buildings just south of where the original construction was taking
place. Exhibit 5-25A shows part of the crane leaning on an apartment building.

Exhibit 5-25A
Crane collapse.