A 59-year-old construction foreman suffered a fatal fall from the leading edge of a roof deck despite wearing fall PPE. Investigators found that his employer failed to train him on how to use the equipment.
Washington State Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) program investigators determined that the foreman used a fall-arrest system that was too long and failed to properly secure the chest and leg straps of his harness.
Falls 17 feet to ground inside building
The foreman was employed by a residential and commercial property management company that had him working with a crew at the site of a new single-story commercial building.
On May 31, 2022, the foreman was alone on the top of the building constructing a plywood roof deck. He was using a personal fall arrest system (PFAS), including anchorage, lifeline, rope grab, body harness and shock-absorbing lanyard. A framing helper was assisting from the ground by using a scissor lift to hand him tools and materials.
The plywood sheets had brackets on each receiving end where the sheets would be set, and the foreman was using his heel to kick the sheets into the brackets. When he attempted to move one of these sheets with his feet, it gave way and dropped under his weight, causing him to fall 17 feet to the ground inside the building. The helper was outside and didn’t see the incident occur.
Foreman dies after 6 days on life support
A manager was watching live-streamed job surveillance video in the office. The manager saw the foreman lying on the ground, had the helper check on him, and then called 9-1-1.
After six days on life support, the foreman died in the hospital.
PFAS was 50 feet long for 17-foot fall
FACE program investigators found that:
- the foreman’s PFAS was more than 50 feet long for a 17-foot fall
- an unnecessary second shock-absorbing lanyard was connected to the anchorage, and
- the chest strap wasn’t connected and the leg straps were loose, meaning that even if the foreman had the correct fall distance for the PFAS to engage he would’ve slipped out of the harness.
The investigation also revealed that the employer didn’t provide adequate fall protection training because it failed to show employees how to:
- evaluate the fall clearance needed in order to select, install and use an appropriate PFAS, and
- engage all connectors to ensure the worker stays fully secured in the harness during a fall.
Discuss fall protection at meetings, provide regular training
To prevent a similar incident, FACE investigators recommend that employers should:
- discuss fall protection policies at crew meetings, monthly safety meetings and annual safety stand-downs, and
- provide recurring hands-on fall protection training and evaluate workers’ ability to use it correctly.
