Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for New Jersey: Building Maintenance Worker Dies After Falling Down a Material Lift Shaft, FACE-98-NJ-064.

摘要

On July 27, 1998, a 64-year-old building maintenance worker was fatally injured after falling nine feet down the shaft of a material lift. The victim was a self-employed construction contractor who maintained a six-story building that housed a restaurant and office spaces. An experienced construction worker, he renovated most of the building and had built a material lift for moving building materials to the upper floors. The lift (which was similar to an elevator) was on the second floor when the victim left the building to get some tools from his van. He opened the ground floor doors leading to the shaft from the street and was apparently trying to jump across the open five-foot wide shaft to reach the interior door when he fell nine feet into the basement. He died of his injuries the next day. NJ FACE investigators concluded that, in order to prevent similar incidents in the future, these safety guidelines should be followed: (1) Building owners should ensure that material lifts and elevators comply with building codes. (2) Contractors should become familiar with available resources on safety standards and safe work practices.