NSSC Safety Conference 2007 Victoria Bridge Incident Grand Mira North Cape Breton County, NS February 12, 2004

Victoria Bridge Incident  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.

Victoria Bridge Incident  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 Victoria Bridge Incident

 Work Site Setup Victoria Bridge Incident

 Height of Fall  Ice Covered Mira River  Materials on Ice Victoria Bridge Incident

 Weather Conditions  Additional Tirfor and Clamp  Ejected Clamp Victoria Bridge Incident

 Tirfor Winch with Cable  Man Riding Bloc Stop  Swaged Wire Rope  Damaged Safety Latch on Eye Hook Victoria Bridge Incident

 Debris on Ice  Top Chord Anchor  Strap Anchor Victoria Bridge Incident

 Bays of Through Truss Bridge  Cross members Ladder was Supported on Victoria Bridge Incident

 Engineered Anchor  January 27, 1997 Victoria Bridge Incident

 Top Chord Anchor Samples  Destroyed after Incident Victoria Bridge Incident

 Clamp Type used on Seal Island Bridge in past Victoria Bridge Incident

 Clamp hooked on flange of bridge Top Chord Victoria Bridge Incident

 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 Victoria Bridge Incident

 Orders given on:  Anchor points  Fall Arrest Equipment  Assessment of Suspended Scaffolding Systems  Inspection of Suspended Scaffolding Systems across the Province Victoria Bridge Incident

 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 Victoria Bridge Incident

 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 Victoria Bridge Incident

 DEL Officer  Equipment Lock-up  Investigation on-going Victoria Bridge Incident

 Charges Laid against both TPW and Supervisor  TPW - 7 charges, April 04, 2005  Supervisor - 2 charges, April 04, 2005 Victoria Bridge Incident

 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 Victoria Bridge Incident

 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 Victoria Bridge Incident

 Supervisor sentence - April 06, $1, Fine - $ Costs - $ Victims Surcharge - Training Program attendance Victoria Bridge Incident

 TPW’s sentence -October 10, $5, Fine - $15, Public Education Trust Fund - Presentation at 2007 NSSC Conference Victoria Bridge Incident

 Setup first Suspended Scaffolding Committee - March 23, 2004  Worked with engineering firm to design new equipment  Top Chord Anchor Clamp just one piece designed Victoria Bridge Incident

 Prototype of new Top Chord Anchor Victoria Bridge Incident

 Exploded View of Top Chord Anchor prototype Victoria Bridge Incident

 Load Testing the prototype Top Chord Anchor Victoria Bridge Incident

 Set up Scaffolding Training Committee - March 03, 2005  Did up Request for Proposal [RFP]  Reviewed proposals  Awarded to New Heights Enterprises Victoria Bridge Incident

 Training started in Sydney on July 05, 2005  40 hours of training - classroom & hands-on  Sessions:Eastern - 4Northern -1 Central - 1Western - 3  Training completed September 30, 2005 Victoria Bridge Incident

 New Clamp Prototype  On-Site Practical Training Victoria Bridge Incident

 Supervisors took the same training as crew  Hands-on experience Victoria Bridge Incident

 Simulated on-site conditions Victoria Bridge Incident

 Installation of Top Chord Anchors as part of training  Use of ladders as part of training Victoria Bridge Incident

 All trainees were hoisted in their harnesses  Allowed for practical experience in controlled conditions Victoria Bridge Incident

 Practical training in Rescue Operations Victoria Bridge Incident

 All trainees went through being rescued Victoria Bridge Incident

 Training done in 2005 identified additional issues  Third committee formed - January 06, 2006  Meetings held and report forwarded on October 10, 2006 Victoria Bridge Incident

 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 Victoria Bridge Incident

 Next Steps:  Bridge Engineers and Supervisors to develop SWP’s and JP’s as needed  Review, do trials, approve new equipment and procedures Victoria Bridge Incident

Questions ?

Thank You ! & Be Safe ! Victoria Bridge Incident