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Stuff Like This Brings On More Laws And More Government....
Horse Plains Drifter
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Trenching is no joke. I had to go take OSHA classes on it when I was a superintendent in TVA's construction. It doesn't take much of a trench cave-in to kill a person. You get below 4 feet (may even be less these days) you better be benching the dirt back or using a drag box or they'll fine the heck out the company and fire who ever is in charge. The company gets caught doing it a couple of times and managers can do time in the pokey and they should. The worst thing that can happen is having to tell a family that their Dad won't be coming home tonight.
Here is something else that'll get you in trouble today. 100% tie-off was one of the hardest things to get Iron Workers to do. They would do things that would make children scream and women faint if they were watching them perform in a circus tent.
Five people were criminally charged in this local incident. I don't know what the final disposition (if any) was.
A later article I found shows a Lewis County judge dismissed charges against 4 defendants, a fifth remains charged with first degree manslaughter
when I worked construction, I had one buddy get crushed by a pre fab wall the wind picked up blew it over on him ( I was not there ) I was told they used scrapers to get him pick up
another buddy trench caved in they could not get him out in time .
a iron worked died on one job I was on he fell onto a retaining wall and rebar stubbed out DRT . some one used a piece of tie wire to temp hold a I bean in place did not bolt it headed to lunch . cost another fellow his life ( what I head happened )
another fellow fell thru a hole we had just cut thru the 3rd floor for air ducts his 1st day on the job another company came in on a Saturday we had ply wood anchored down over the hole some one had took all the bolts loose and or broke them off . he was rolling a scaffold with his dad on it , we think he just used his foot pushed the ply wood out of the way it slid and he was DTR when he hit 1st floor .
a good friend and my Forman had his head crushed between a back hoe bucket and a concrete wall one of his best pals was running the back hoe . his son was right there also along with my dad
I came close way too many times to not go home from work under my own power and more than few days . blind luck or guardian angel save me . but I count my blessing when I think about them
will ad the iron workers use to really give me grief about not walking the red iron with them . and sliding on my butt when crossing the i beams a bit embarrassing yes , but I am still here ☺️
will add I am a small fellow in height so any hole or underground pipe I was it tight places being in th edark underground never bothered me
now in life no way to all of it
"will ad the iron workers use to really give me grief about not walking the red iron with them . and sliding on my butt when crossing the i beams a bit embarrassing yes , but I am still here ☺️"
Cooning the beam is no disgrace. I was glad when they come up with the 100% tie-off for anything above 8 or 10 feet. I can't remember the exact height now.
Anyway in the old days if you were a superintendent and didn't walk the steel to look the job over the Iron Workers didn't think much of you.
I got along with the Iron Workers better than most of the crafts though. One of our old Iron Worker foreman, Gurney Smith, used to tell me "Greg, don't you worry about this job 'cause we're gonna make you look good, like a diamond in a goat's *." I'd tell him thanks a lot Gurney, you always do. 😏
will add in most all the iron Workes I met and worked with were truly good men and women in many ways one older fellow at the time was 65 he was strong as a bull and a big fellow and 100% union ( we were all union ) I tried to help him a couple times carrying a i beam he would say thanks but dont touch it he refused to buy any thing not union made or in the USA
he was full of pride for his trade and being a American I respected him for that ( I was 20 yrs old ) I am sure he is long gone but such people stay with me in my mind and heart and very few like him are still around I would guess much less trying to buy all union and American products
as for the iron heads they would say to me you walk every day on the ground its the same just dont think or fear falling how often do you fall just walking they really did try and build my confidence
I would say well ya but a bruised butt is a lot different then being splattered on the ground I just never got over the fear of heights and falling . I got a bit more brave but honest some days when I was up on several + stories of scaffolding swaying int wind a you could not have driven a tooth pick in my butt with a sledge hammer it was clenched so tight LOL