Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) for Wisconsin: Electrician Apprentice Dies Following a 55-Foot Fall From a Roof

摘要

A 21-year-old male electrician apprentice (the victim) died of injuries received after falling 55 feet from a roof. The victim was working with a journeyman electrician to install conduit and wiring for a surveillance camera on the flat roof of a hospital. An eighteen-inch high ledge surrounds the roof edge, and a wire rope guard railing was located 20 feet from each roof edge. The victim was standing outside the guard railing and was using a reel pulling tape to pull de-energized electrical wire through a conduit. There were no witnesses to the incident, and it appears he inadvertently stepped to the edge of the roof and fell 55 feet to the ground. The electrician was replacing the cover on a pull box about 40 feet away from where the victim had been standing and looked for him in that location. He noticed that the electrical wires were over the edge of the building, went to the edge to look over, and saw the victim lying near the base of the building. The victim was moved to the hospital emergency room, where he was pronounced dead of massive head trauma. The Wisconsin FACE investigator concluded that, to prevent similar occurrences, employers should: (1) Evaluate their current safety program and incorporate specific training procedures emphasizing the importance of recognizing and avoiding hazards in the workplace. These procedures should include, but not be limited to, conducting hazard evaluations before initiating work at a job site and implementing appropriate controls. (2) Ensure that fall protection equipment is provided and used by workers where the potential for a fall from an elevation exists. (3) Conduct scheduled and unscheduled site visits to evaluate field compliance with company safety rules and procedures.