OSHA cites companies in deadly Quincy crane collapse

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/01/osha_cites_comp.html

January 13, 2009 03:27 PM

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Federal workplace safety regulators have issued citations against two companies for the August accident in which a giant crane collapsed during dismantling at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, killing one worker and injuring three others.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it had issued “serious citations” to Norsar LLC, the contractor overseeing the dismantling, and Sarens, the subcontractor that owned and operated the jacking system used to support the crane during the dismantling process.

Robert Harvey, 28, a Quincy native who had recently married and moved to Weymouth, was killed in the accident.

An inspection following the Aug. 14, 2008 accident found that Norsar and Sarens had deviated from the original dismantling plan, deciding to dismantle the 3,000-ton crane’s 160-foot-long legs in single units, rather than in two 80-foot sections, OSHA said in a statement.

The deviation from the plan “exposed employees to crushing and struck-by hazards due to inadequate planning, failure to control movement, and failure to assure the structural stability of the leg during its removal. ... The two companies also failed to avoid or minimize employees’ presence in the danger zone,” the statement said.

FULL story at link.