Stop the Sacrifices to the Gods of Construction
by Mark Paradies

I just returned from the funeral for a young man. He died at 23. He was sacrificed to appease the Gods of Construction. What? Surly human sacrifices ended a millennium ago. Yes, it did. Except in certain industries where needless deaths are still offered up for no reason.

This is a story of a needless fatality. This sacrifice starts on a clear day in Texas. Two men were trying to complete a job that was overdue. They had been working 10 hours per day for 21 days. If they worked quickly, they could complete the job and go home to their families for Thanksgiving. They were working on a makeshift scaffold about 100 feet above the ground. They had worked on this scaffold for most of the 21 days. They were confident that it was safe but both men wore the required full fall protection gear. They were secured to a ladder that was welded to the tank that they were working to complete.

One of the men (young and strong) needed to move around the other older man to hammer out a pin. He unhooked his harness so that he would not get tangled in the other man's harness. He decided that the pin didn't look very substantial, and a single solid swing of the sledgehammer would surely knock the pin loose. He didn't hook back up because it would only take a second and the harness would get in the way. He swung. Despite his youth and strength, his muscles were tired. Instead of a solid blow to the pin, the sledge glanced off the pin at an angle. The sledge continued on. It struck a 2-inch bracket that secured the floor of the scaffold to the tank.

The bracket, never having been tested by a blow of such force, yielded. When it gave way, the floor gave way. The young man felt the security of the flooring vanish. Gravity took control. He fell until he hit some supports (about 20 feet). The impact shattered his strong legs. Maybe he could grab something and save his life? No. In the wild ride with boards and sledge, he missed any handholds and continued an additional 80 feet to the ground.

After the fall, he as still alive. The EMTs arrived, collected his fractured body, and delivered it to an emergency room. Despite his youth, and strength, and great will to live, he died while the surgeons tried to repair the massive damage that a fall of 100 feet causes.

The Funeral
It was at the funeral that I met his sweet, 21-year old wife. They were just starting out in life. They had been married for only 23 months when he was sacrificed. They had so much more of life to live. The sadness in her eyes was immeasurable.

Her father was there too. This was his only son - his pride and joy. He had taught his son to weld. Now his son had died on the job. Why? Why did he not tie off? Why did the other man not say something to him? (He had survived because he was tied off). Why wasn't the bracket able to withstand a single blow from a sledge? Didn't they previously use 5-inch brackets? Would a 5-inch bracket have prevented the accident? What if they had taken their normal days off? If his son were rested would he perhaps have decided to hook up first before he swung the sledgehammer? Or maybe he would have struck the pin squarely? What of the shortcuts they sometimes took to get the job done quickly? How many others had worked for short periods without tying off? Although they didn't think of these shortcuts as reckless, could this have led to additional shortcuts that finally led to his son's death?

These are the kind of questions people ask you when you are an expert in the investigation of accidents. But all I could think about was the young man who looked so peaceful in his casket and the sadness in the eyes of his young widow.

Atone for Management's Sins
Why must this needless sacrifice continue? Surely we must be wise enough to build structures without needless sacrifice of young men to the Gods of Construction? The answers don't require rocket science. They do require good, concerned management. Management that makes sure that shortcuts are completely unacceptable.

To get management's attention, I have a suggestion. Make them look into the eyes of the young widow. Not for a second. They should take a good, hard look. Imagine that she was their daughter. And the grief that she feels would not go away when they turned their back. It would haunt them, as it will her, for the rest of their lives.

The company's president, vice presidents, board members, and every manager and supervisor in the chain of command should be in the receiving line. They should look into the widow's eyes. And explain to the young man's father how they had failed to keep his son safe and alive. Then they should leave and sacrifice one of their first born to atone for their sin - because no sacrifice of money is sufficient to atone for the life of another.

I have a feeling that the attitude in the construction industry would change when deaths become personal to those at the top. The sacrifices would stop when the company president's children were at risk. I think that all of the rules would be take much more seriously. After one or two sacrifices, shortcuts would become an unforgivable sin.

An End to Needless Sacrifice
Many industries with better safety records than that of the construction industry are doing much more to improve performance. Isn't it time that the needless sacrifices stop? Isn't it time for management to look deeply into the mistakes that are being made and stop the practices that cost young men their lives? To start change it takes concerned management willing to commit to end the needless sacrifice.

Mark Paradies is Partner and President of System Improvements Inc. in Knoxville, TN. They can be reached at 865-539-2139 or for more information at www.taproot.com