In September the state of Nevada’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration fined the company $12,000 for five items relating to the incident.
Nevada safety manager Jimmy Garrett confirmed that Dielco has contested the citations, but said that he did not know how Dielco wished to proceed. Garrett said that the company could meet with the OSHA chief administrative officer to try to resolve the issue, or would have the case heard by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Review Board.
In the first citation, OSHA said:
“At the CityCenter construction site, two Manitowoc 2250 crawler cranes were operated for various tasks including shaking out and hoisting structural steel. Three operators were not aware of the manufacturer’s requirement to sound the crane’s horn prior to swinging to alert personnel. On the day of the accident, an oiler was standing to the west of the tracks and north of the crane’s counterweights. The crane rotated clockwise, causing the oiler to become trapped and crushed between the track and counterweights. The oiler sustained fatal injuries.
“Based on interviews with multiple operators of the Manitowoc 2250 and on observation of operations, manufacturer’s specifications for operation were not complied with. Specifically, operators did not sound the crane’s horn to alert personnel prior to swinging.
“On two days, including the day of the accident, the operator’s cab rear window had a covering to provide shade. The covering was a brown, translucent fabric material. Placed between this material and the cab’s rear window was what appeared to be a piece of cardboard. This blocked the view through the window to the rear where the oiler was standing, and also blocked the use of the rear view mirror.”
OSHA also cited the company for poor training, a poor accident investigation report and poor written procedures on risk assessments.
When contacted by telephone, a Dielco spokesman said that the company had no comment.
The CityCenter project, lead by construction contractor Perini, is a $9bn mixed-use development on the Las Vegas strip due to open in late 2009. The construction project alone employs 7,000 people. According to a report in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, there have been six deaths on the project.
