OSHA faults crane company in CityCenter death

By Alexandra Berzon

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 | 2 a.m.

State inspectors found that serious contractor violations contributed to two major accidents — one fatal — at CityCenter last year, according to new reports released this week to the Sun.

In the May 31 death of CityCenter crane oiler Dustin Tarter, Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said crane operators working for Dielco Crane Service were unaware they were supposed to sound a horn before swinging the crane, a warning signal that could have prevented the accident. The agency fined Dielco $12,000 for that and other violations.

Tarter’s death was one of six at CityCenter since the project began. It led to a massive one-day walkout by workers who alleged the project’s general contractor, Perini Building Co., was not doing enough to ensure safety on the site.

On the day of the accident, workers outside the Mandarin Oriental Tower were using a mobile crane to spread and organize pieces of steel.

Inspectors could find no witnesses. It appeared Tarter was oiling the crane’s tracks when the operator rotated the crane, causing the counterweight to drop and crush Tarter.

Tarter couldn’t see the crane operator and vice versa because a piece of cardboard propped up against the window in the cab to block the sun also blocked visibility.

OSHA cited Dielco for three serious and three regulatory violations, including failure to properly instruct employees in the use of the crane, failure to follow manufacturer specifications and failure to maintain visibility.

OSHA also issued less severe citations against Dielco for not following the company’s own safety plans.

A Dielco representative told the Sun the company would not comment on the report.

Notes from the two-month investigation indicate OSHA inspector Nicholas La Fronz followed several leads, including rumors on the job site that the driver of the crane that killed Tarter drank on the job and had in the past been barred from the work site because of that. The inspector apparently found no evidence to verify those rumors.

La Fronz also found that the operator had disconnected an alarm system in the crane that warns others when the crane is about to swing a load. The use of the alarm system is not required by law. Safety officials told La Fronz that to use it might confuse workers because some types of cranes don’t have an alarm.

Also this week, OSHA released the inspection report for a scissor lift accident that seriously injured two ironworkers June 9 at CityCenter.

A scissor lift is a basket on top of a crisscrossing device that raises workers up and down to reach high spots.

Two workers, both employees of SME Steel, were using the lift to drill holes and bolt steel plates to install a new floor at the casino. One of them had attached a yellow extension cord from his drill to the lift but had knotted it the wrong way.

Below the lift, their foreman backed a forklift away from the lift and made a “Y” turn to retrieve more plates for the workers. The forklift snagged the extension cord, which didn’t release from the knot. That sent the lift toppling over and the employees tumbling to the ground.

Workers Hector Bustamante and Ryan Esteban were taken to the hospital. Bustamante suffered a broken left arm and left leg. Esteban had multiple skull fractures, fractured vertebrae and blood in his lungs.

OSHA issued $9,900 in fines for three serious and two regulatory violations. The agency found that SME had not properly trained employees on how to attach and use electrical cords, had not made sure employees were using their safety harnesses correctly, and had not properly protected extension cords and cables. In lesser violations, OSHA found that SME had not properly followed its safety plan and was not correctly filling out its injury logs.

SME safety director Jay Lemanski did not respond to calls for comment.

SME had been cited for several serious violations by OSHA following the death of Harold Billingsley, an ironworker who died last October at CityCenter. But in that case OSHA removed all of the citations during an informal conference with SME representatives.

OSHA documents provided to the Sun indicate that no informal conferences to negotiate citations have been held in the most recent SME and Dielco cases.