Cited were Rapetti Rigging Services Inc., the crane’s erector; Reliance Construction Group, the project’s general contractor; and Joy Contractors Inc., the project’s concrete and superstructure contractor. Rapetti was cited for alleged problems associated with rigging the crane and lack of fall protection, while Reliance and Joy were cited for lack of fall protection, fire protection and other hazards unrelated to the crane collapse.
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Edwin G. Foulke Jr. said, “This case illustrates in stark terms that failure to follow required procedures can have wide-ranging and catastrophic consequences.”
Rapetti Rigging has been issued three willful citations with penalties totaling $210,000 for allegedly failing, among other things, to comply with the crane manufacturer’s specifications and limitations when erecting and raising the tower crane, to protect synthetic rigging slings from damage, to inspect the slings for damage or defects before use, and to remove a defective sling from service.
“Ultimately, the crane collapse was a failure to follow basic, but essential, construction safety processes,” said Richard Mendelson, OSHA’s area director in Manhattan.
Rapetti also has been issued five serious citations, with $10,000 in proposed fines for fall hazards. Employees working on the crane’s mast and at the edge of the 18th floor level and other areas lacked proper fall protection. Penalties proposed against Rapetti total $220,000.
The New York Times has quoted a lawyer for Rapetti, Andrew S. Fisher, denying wrongdoing. ”We intend to defend against these citations, which we think were issued in error,” Fisher said. ”And I think we will be able to establish to OSHA — assuming OSHA has an open mind — that some of the conclusions they reached, which resulted in the citations, are in error.”
Joy Contractors and Reliance Construction Group have also been issued citations for non-crane-related issues.
