NSSC Safety ConferenceNSSC Safety Conference20072007

Victoria Bridge Incident

Grand Mira NorthCape Breton County, NS

February 12, 2004

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On Thursday, February 12, 2004, Transportation and Public Works, Steel Bridge Crew, had a suspended scaffolding incident resulting in serious injuries to one of our employees.

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Victoria Bridge is located in Grand Mira North just outside of Sydney, NS

Past the Two Rivers Wildlife Park

DEL Investigators

Suspended Scaffolding

Modified Clamp

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Work Site Setup

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Height of Fall

Ice Covered Mira River

Materials on Ice

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Weather Conditions

Additional Tirfor and Clamp

Ejected Clamp

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Tirfor Winch with Cable

Man Riding Bloc Stop

Swaged Wire Rope

Damaged Safety Latch on Eye Hook

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Debris on Ice

Top Chord Anchor

Strap Anchor

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Bays of Through Truss Bridge

Cross members Ladder was Supported on

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Engineered Anchor

January 27, 1997

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Top Chord Anchor Samples

Destroyed after Incident

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Clamp Type used on Seal Island Bridge in past

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Clamp hooked on flange of bridge Top Chord

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Clamp modified to provide step off from bridge

Sent out an Alert across province Out-of-Service across province: All

types of equipment involved in incident until root causes determined

Orders to secure equipment directly involved

Orders for various records

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Orders given on:

Anchor points Fall Arrest Equipment Assessment of Suspended Scaffolding

Systems Inspection of Suspended Scaffolding

Systems across the Province

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All Suspended Scaffolding work done by TPW forces stopped across the province

All Suspended Scaffolding components were reviewed across the province

Various equipment was removed from duty and destroyed

Other equipment was sent to approved technicians for inspection and re-certification

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Started to investigate in conjunction with DEL

Constructed Mock-up of bridge section

Experts were brought in for mock-up investigation

TPW instructed to do mock-up without DEL

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DEL Officer

Equipment Lock-up

Investigation on-going

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Charges Laid against both TPW and Supervisor

TPW - 7 charges, April 04, 2005

Supervisor - 2 charges, April 04, 2005

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Various court proceedings starting April 22, 2005

Guilty plea entered by Supervisor on April 06, 2006 to one charge, no evidence given on other charge

Guilty plea entered by TPW on October 10, 2006 to one charge, no evidence given on other 6 charges

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Supervisor - Plead guilty to allowing the use of the modified clamp without certification by a professional engineer

TPW - Plead guilty of not ensuring the modified clamp was certified by a professional engineer

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Supervisor sentence - April 06, 2006

- $1,000.00 Fine- $100.00 Costs- $150.00 Victims Surcharge- Training Program attendance

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TPW’s sentence - October 10, 2006

- $5,000.00 Fine

- $15,000.00 Public Education Trust Fund

- Presentation at 2007 NSSC Conference

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Setup first Suspended Scaffolding Committee - March 23, 2004

Worked with engineering firm to design new equipment

Top Chord Anchor Clamp just one piece designed

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Prototype of new Top Chord Anchor

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Exploded View of Top Chord Anchor prototype

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Load Testing the prototype Top Chord Anchor

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Set up Scaffolding Training Committee - March 03, 2005

Did up Request for Proposal [RFP]

Reviewed proposals

Awarded to New Heights Enterprises

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Training started in Sydney on July 05, 2005

40 hours of training - classroom & hands-on

Sessions: Eastern - 4 Northern -1 Central - 1 Western - 3

Training completed September 30, 2005

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New Clamp Prototype

On-Site Practical Training

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Supervisors took the same training as crew

Hands-on experience

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Simulated on-site conditions

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Installation of Top Chord Anchors as part of training

Use of ladders as part of training

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All trainees were hoisted in their harnesses

Allowed for practical experience in controlled conditions

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Practical training in Rescue Operations

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All trainees went through being rescued

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Training done in 2005 identified additional issues

Third committee formed - January 06, 2006

Meetings held and report forwarded on October 10, 2006

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Additional changes since the Incident: Created new Bridge Maintenance Engineer to

provide technical coordination of the District Bridge Engineers

Changed reporting structure for District Bridge Engineers who now report to the District Director

Clarified District and Head Office roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for bridge maintenance training, supervision, equipment and techniques

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Next Steps:

Bridge Engineers and Supervisors to develop SWP’s and JP’s as needed

Review, do trials, approve new equipment and procedures

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Questions ?

Thank You !&

Be Safe !

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