The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) recently posted on its L&I Blog a blog titled “I survived,” a cautionary tale about how fall protection saved a construction work from a 30′ plunge. In early May, Apollo, Inc. employee Tanner Kane was using a bar to pop forms off the top of a retaining wall. Suddenly, he was catapulted over a 30′ retaining wall. According to his work partner, Carrie Johnson, “It was crazy; one minute he was there, and in a blink of an eye he was gone.” Because Tanner was using a fall protection system and was tied off to the horizontal lifeline installed for the job, he survived the potential 30′ fall with no significant injuries. Tanner’s coworkers activated the rescue plan and Tanner was able to self-rescue with help from Johnson.
The blog confirms that, one week earlier, Apollo was preparing for the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction and had requested an L&I onsite consultation with Debra Kellard, a safety consultant from L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). During the consultation, Apollo employees and Kellard discussed the challenges of fall protection on the job, conducted an onsite inspection and identified areas for improvement. At the conclusion of the meeting, Apollo shared fall protection information with the project crew.
Additional Source: ORR Safety, Fall Protection Saves a Father’s Life, Evergreen Safety Council, Fall protection pays off!