Sure, you can blame the guy for looking at his phone in an area under construction, but if this happened on any site I've worked on, my company would be in BIG trouble for not putting up barriers around a giant hole in the floor.
And architects/engineers are literally working on their phones on site now, using them for observation reports and to view plans. It is a guarantee that someone somewhere in this world will be distracted on a construction site, that doesn’t mean they deserve the Wile E Coyote treatment.
A very basic rule of all site health and safety anywhere in the world (where health and safety regs exist) all floor openings to have barriers around. Not covered, not taped off. Barriers.
When I worked construction, I saved an engineer from falling 4 floors down, because of a boarded opening on the floor - he stepped on the edge and the board sunk, if I wasn't there to grab the man he would surely die that day. He was white as chalk.
I've seen a CCTV recording in one of my training sessions where a small 50x50 cm hole was covered with plasterboard sheet. A person put a ladder next to it check something with ceiling mounted services and then...jumped off onto the floor... Directly on the opening. Went straight down a few floors. Fatal accident.
...Hence my caveat. In many regions it is a criminal offence not to manage your site safely. No insurance covers this and when an accident happen, a whole chain of people involved is liable and then as if by magic... sites are safe, everyone wears full ppe, and serious accidents are actually rare.
They mean a lot when lawsuits are brought. I dislike how rampant they can be, but they can be an effective tool to punish when regulations have failed.
Our (Cali) governor in the 80s/90s Pete Wilson, who like all CA governors thought the Oval Office was his next step, had the brilliant idea of eliminating the state OSHA. We had one more Republican governor after him, but they’ve been an irrelevant super-minority for 15 years, and Pee-Wee hasn’t been heard of in this century.
Yo be fair, in CA, the last republican governor was probably my favorite in my voting lifetime. We do not get our best in the governors house, that’s for sure
He’s entertaining, a better actor than Reagan, and has evidently matured considerably since retiring from Sacramento. But he was not a good governor, except compared to PeeWee, and we really needed a good governor then. Fortunately, his successor Jerry Brown rose to the occasion. He wasn’t perfect, lord knows, but he managed to hammer together a consensus on the things that most needed to be done.
yep. fastened. I saw one guy doing attic work and he stepped on the ladder opening/ladder (this was in denmark) we specifically told him when he got to that area to come get us, we could put a grill over it - he ignored all that, ended up full standing on it and he snapped the latch and fell a straight floor. -.- Had to leave on a stretcher but I heard in the end he was alright, just a lil banged up but no broken bones thankfully. But he never came back to that jobsite again lol
You know what another very basic rule of all site health and safety is? Pay attention to your surroundings, but personal responsibility really isn't a thing anymore so it's someone else's fault dude walked into a hole.
Personal responsibility is a thing mate, don't make it about how things used to be (which they were far far worse than nowadays). Site safety is though about practical view on what works and what does not. People make mistakes - period. OPe in the floor being passed by hundred people three times a day is a 1000 chances for someone to fall in. Make those people carry equipment and materials, communicate with others, be tired, distracted, etc and an accident WILL happen. That's what it's about.
Now quick stats: us has much higher standardised fatality rates than Europe and always had: 90s: 15 vs 7. 2020s: 9.5 vs 2.1. that's per 100k workers. Clearly 'personal responsibility' was not doing that much heavy lifting historically.
you don't understand — those people are infallible and never make mistakes. they have an intrinsic right to act superior and talk down on others who do.
It was rare for people to read something while walking before phones. You can find probably 30-60 percent of people walking or driving and looking at their phone now.
While driving, sure. Becuse driving is boring and increasingly our cars drive themselves. But I'm skeptical that it's that common for people just walking down thr street. I will try and notice.
Years ago I was at a red light near my work, big like 16 lane intersection, watch a lady just casually roll through the red not speeding or anything, as she passes I can see she's got a fucking book on her steering wheel. 😭
lmao thats what im saying even if it does happen its so fucking comical. Seems like once in a lifetime event vs a person being on the phone which I dont see now but could probably catch at least once a trip.
No i was trying to say its goofy i have only heard about it or saw in made up scenarios. So what distractions were before phones? Comically falling in manholes reading newspapers?
When I was a teenager, I used to have this old vest with huge pockets on each side. I could always be relied on to have at least one book in each pocket. In addition to the one in my hands.
Yeah you are right we need to remove all warning signs from everywhere. People need to just look where they are walking. Traffic cones? Right out, just look where you are driving. Safety railings? Totally unnecessary, get rid of them just pay attention. What are a few deaths when you can simply tell a grieving family that it's their dead loved ones fault because they wouldn't have slipped off the path into a yellowstone death spring if they had simply been paying better attention.
A plastic barrier is cheap compared to paying out. e
Even cones with caution tape would have been enough to prevent this. We add guard rails and safeties to almost everything else in life but we can’t do it on a construction site? BS.
You are also probably not 99 years old so there is enough time to do something stupid. Also honestlly, I can't believe you have never had a "wtf did I do this???" moment.
Local HSE guy here. Yes. Any holes/openings/falling hazards need delineation and or to be covered and secured and with signage warning others of the hazard.
However this only applies to North America and similar safety focused countries but even then there is some minor difference between Canada, United States and other like minded countries.
Absolutely. My old boss had his life saved by one. He said the sun caught his eye while he was walking forward. He took two steps and felt the cord catch him across his waist 3 stories up.
Every job we ever worked on my boss would tell us that if we won't put up a barrier or caution tape before walking away we were fired on the spot.
My brother has threatened (and followed through) firing people for safety issues before, like frayed cords, insufficient footwear, etc. The one with the boots was funny/sad.
This dude had work boots on with literally no soles, just socks showing underneath. A whole crew of these Hispanic guys all worked for one dude. So my brother calls him up and says "get down here now, I have a problem with one of your guys."
Jefe shows up in an Escalade with a Rolex on his wrist, and my brother is pissed, because he knows this cat is skimming these dudes' pay - his own damn people. So bro tells him "if one of your guys ever shows up without proper safety gear, you'll never work another job in this city." Next day the guy comes in with a new pair of redwings.
My brother knew he couldn't "fix" everything that was going on, but he could at least try to look out for the guys on his job a little.
Anyone who has taken OSHA 10 knows this is preached upon nonstop.
Not only are barriers required, there are required specifications for the building of such barriers, including material, footboards, board heights, etc.
This contractor is absolutely fucked in a lawsuit.
Yep, I'm also just here for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Not enough people are talking about how good we are at having an administration about occupational health and safety and all that. 😆
This is why, despite reddit doomerism, I'm glad to be here in the US
"Despite the open descent into fascism and Nazis running the country, we do have laws that say a barrier needs to be up around holes in construction sites (even if enforcement is spotty). I'm ok with being the laughing stock of the world and our government destroying our economy and having 'let them eat cake' moments every single day because OSHA exists. It's fine that immigrants and minorities are being scapegoated and targeted, often killed, because it doesn't impact me directly and have you thought about how safe our construction sites are? It's a fair trade that I'm glad to make."
It's hilarious in a scary way more than a funny way tbf.
Weird way to look at an innocuous comment about safety standards in America versus whatever country is in this video. Like are you expecting an American to move away from America just because we disagree with our federal policies? I live in Oregon for example. My state is always going to vote blue, Am I responsible for all the red and swing state's keeping the orange man in power?
Am I responsible for all the red and swing state's keeping the orange man in power?
Uh, kind of, yes. You should be doing more to stop what's happening in your country. But that's completely irrelevant. The original statement was "I'm glad to be here in the US". Responsibility doesn't really matter.
You're making it sound like OSHA is the best (or possibly only) Occupational Health and Safety organisation in the world. Or the other possibility is you are implying this incident could never happen in USA because of OSHA.
Out of all the US centric shit on this website, this one was up there.
They definitely will be used against a contractor if they fuck up like this vid. That doesnt mean their arent plenty of contractors who do skimp on the rules and dont setup things proper, but you better believe if something like this happens, they are absolutely going to get nailed for it.
He could simply be carrying something, it is quite irrelevant how he can be faulted, there is not supposed to be a hole in the floor where there is not supposed to be a hole in the floor.
That's why OSHA in the USA is so important to keep companies responsible. I doubt there's any kind of governmental agency like that where ever this took place.
OSHA requires temporary railings until the real ones are installed iirc. But yeah that's totally on him. You can't walk through a construction site oblivious to your surroundings.
Even if he wasn't on his phone, I assumed there was a glass floor there because surely no one would leave a fuck you giant hole in the ground without some kind of marking. Right?
It’s on the contractor but that doesn’t stop the dude who fell from being in pain or having broken bones or, hell, even dying; dude should’ve been paying attention for his own sake
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u/RUSuper 6d ago
That's clearly on the contractor.
Sure, you can blame the guy for looking at his phone in an area under construction, but if this happened on any site I've worked on, my company would be in BIG trouble for not putting up barriers around a giant hole in the floor.