Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1355403.015 - Western Waterproofing Company Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Santa Ana District Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:30 a.m. on October 23, 2018, Employee #1 and a coworker, employed by a waterproofing company, were engaged in waterproofing work at a nine-story building. They were working from a suspended scaffold with two drum hoists and pendant controls. As the coworker operated the hoists to raise the scaffold to the seventh floor, the hoist at one end near Employee #1 suddenly began to operate in the downward direction instead of moving the scaffold upward, as the hoist at the other end of the scaffold was doing. The scaffold platform became askew/unbalanced. Employee #1, unable to correct the hoist or stop it, became suspended on his rope grab, part of his fall protection system. The fall protection system worked properly and prevented Employee #1 from falling. The coworker then switched his end's hoist to descend and succeeded in synchronizing the two sides of the scaffold. Employee #1 was suspended for a short time and then was brought down with the assistance of emergency services personnel. Neither employee incurred any injury.

Keywords: Construction, Descending, Drum Hoist, Elevated Work Platform, Equipment Failure, Fall Protection, Falling Object, Lost Balance, Maintenance, Pendant Control, Repair, Rope, Scaffold, Waterproofing