Spent some time with xxxx today, a construction worker on this tower. He was telling me how they do the cement pours. They pour half the floor monday evening and the other half thursday evening. The two pours allows time for the structure to settle. It actually leans in the direction of each pour. They have 10 floors to go with each office floor 13.6 feet tall so we can add 136 feet to the current height. It will be topped out in 10 weeks, about mid to 3rd week in July. The parking levels are 9.6 feet tall.
I get quite a bit of education and insight from xxxx. He said the soil conditions can easily support any size tower built on it.
Last update on the injured worker now that I now have all the details. The guy was working on window mullions on the 9th floor between the buck hoist and the side of the building when the elevator started moving. His head became pinned and the right side of his face was basically crushed and peeled away.
He lost his right eye. I won't gross you guys out with the rest of xxxx's description of what he saw when he got to the guy. So the guy is screaming and within seconds, they shut down the lift. The guy was literally hanging from the 9th floor by only his head squeezed between the buck hoist and building. Several workers risked their lives by reaching out and supporting his legs to take the pressure off his head, while others used crowbars to pry the hoist enough to free his head.
So how this all happened is clear...
Protective plywood is placed in all danger zones and no one is allowed beyond them. This guy moved the plywood to get beyond it so he could hurry up to finish the window mullions in that area behind the buck hoist. Violation #1. He was working alone. Everyone on the construction site must have a working buddy and they must always be in sight of each other at all times...violation #2. He should have informed xxxx or other worker that he was working next to the hoist so lock out tag out procedures would be followed which xxxx said should have made the elevator impossible to move...violation 3.
What saved his life was first and foremost his hard hat. It literally prevented his skull from being crushed. He suffered tissue and ligament damage mostly with broken jaw an face bones. Second, the fast thinking and courageous actions of the workers close to the accident scene. Xxxx believes the guy would have been decapitated if they didn't support and rescue him in the time and manner they did.
The injured guy will be in the hospital for at least 6 more weeks. It took at least 8 hours of surgery just to repair his neck and throat.
So basically the guy broke through a safety barracade to rush to get a job done without following safety protocol and it almost killed him.
Now not only did his fellow workers risk their lives to save his, they also dug deep into their pockets to contribute $15,000 of their own money to help with his medical bills and accomodate his family so they can be with him. They also raised an additional $15k through a web site set up for him.
So that's the scoop on that, enough said...but guys, that's an amazing story if you ask me, and an amazing look at the workers who are building our beautiful skyline. When you see the guys working on the Colorado Tower, there are heros among them...
Last edited by the Genral; May 4, 2014 at 3:51 PM.
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