LOCAL ACCIDENT

IN PHILLIPINES
 3 INJURED AS PLATFORM IN MANILA
CONSTRUCTION SITE COLLAPSES

Three construction workers were rushed to the hospital after the platform they were
on while working on a building in Manila collapsed on Friday.
Allan Toledo, chief of operations of the city’s disaster risk reduction management
unit, said Ramil Dela Cruz, 25; Mark John Deletavo, 18; and Guiller Sia, 19; had to be
taken to Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center after the incident around 11 a.m. on
Bustillos St., Sampaloc.

Toledo said the three were standing on a “four-to-five-inches-thick” concrete

platform, “placing joints in a scaffolding” on the second floor of what was going to be
a Jollibee fastfood establishment, when it (the platform) gave in and fell to the ground.
“When the platform fell, one construction worker, Dela Cruz, was hit by the steels of
the building’s scaffolding and a part of the concrete, so now he has a possible fracture
in the right leg,” Toledo said.
He said the other two—Deletavo and Sia—suffered only minor bruises.
According to Toledo, the 12-foot long “protruding” platform or the “overlap slab,”
which was an element of the two-story building that helped prevent rain from hitting
its walls, appeared to have been weakened by the rainfall on Thursday night.
He said those who constructed the platform appeared to have applied the “wrong
methodology.”
“It’s because it appears the platform lacked braces. It should have a strong foundation,
but we saw it was only on top of eroded soil,” Toledo explained.
He said his office had already recommended that the construction workers of the firm
—which he had yet to determine—stop their work while an investigation into possible
violations of the Building Code was being undertaken by the City Engineering Office.

1 DEAD, 8 HURT IN CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT

MANILA, Philippines - A mason was killed and eight others were injured when an
improvised scaffolding collapsed at a construction site in Barangay San Isidro,
Paranaque City yesterday morning.

Diego Reponte, 37, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Olivarez Hospital while his
co-workers Rodrigo Vasquez, 36; Rey Rebojo, 41; Eduardo Romano, 53; Edwin
Galan, 35; Rodel Rubios, 21; Victor Agboya, 32; John Albert Cabael, 21; and
Crisanto Sorela, 29, were treated for bruises, contusions and fractures, city police
chief Senior Superintendent Ariel Andrade said.

The accident occurred at past 8 a.m. at the site where the Premier Medical Center is
being built at the Amvel Compound.

City administrator Fernando Soriano said he has ordered the city government building
and engineering offices to determine whether there were any safety lapses on the part
of the contractor and the building owners.

We will look into this incident closely to determine what went wrong and to institute
corrective measures so that this does not happen again ``he said.

The official said they would like to determine whether the project is covered by
an occupational safety permit from the Department of Labor and Employment,
among others.

2 WORKERS DEAD, 2 INJURED IN BINONDO

CONSTRUCTION MISHAP

MANILA, Philippines – Two construction workers died while two others were injured
following an accident in a construction site in Binondo, Manila, on Saturday, August 4.

According to a Manila Police Station initial report, the workers fell from the 4th floor of
Sun Joy Tower 3 when the platform collapsed around 10:30 am. The site is in
Lavezares Street corner Sto Cristo in Binondo.

The workers were rushed to the Jose Abad Santos General Hospital but worker Rey
Pazares died due to injuries. Carpenter Eduardo Bernas was earlier in critical condition
but later died at around 4 pm.

The other carpenters, Efren Bantoto at Francis Bejo, are currently under observation at
Jose Reyes Hospital.

The police are still investigating whether safety procedures at the construction site were
followed by the contractor. – Rappler.com

\
 2 DEAD, 6 HURT AS CRANE CRASHES DOWN IN
PASAY
Two men were killed and six others were injured after a metal crane in a construction
site crashed onto a commercial building in Pasay on Tuesday afternoon.

In a report submitted to Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario, director of the Southern

Police District, the accident happened when a crane tower was being set up in the
ongoing construction of STI building near the corner of P. Calle and Edsa
around 12:30 p.m.

1 DEAD, 8 HURT IN CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT

MANILA, Philippines - A mason was killed and eight others were injured when an
improvised scaffolding collapsed at a construction site in Barangay San Isidro,
Paranaque City yesterday morning.

Diego Reponte, 37, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Olivarez Hospital while his
co-workers Rodrigo Vasquez, 36; Rey Rebojo, 41; Eduardo Romano, 53; Edwin
Galan, 35; Rodel Rubios, 21; Victor Agboya, 32; John Albert Cabael, 21; and
Crisanto Sorela, 29, were treated for bruises, contusions and fractures, city police
chief Senior Superintendent Ariel Andrade said.

The accident occurred at past 8 a.m. at the site where the Premier Medical Center is
being built at the Amvel Compound
 CONSTRUCTION WORKERS’ DEATH IN CEBU
HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR PRO-WORKER OSH
LAW – EILER

MANILA — The death of five construction workers while asleep in their bunkhouse
should prompt the labor department and lawmakers to criminalize violations on
occupational safety and health standards, said a labor non-government organization.
The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER) criticized the
non-compliance with work safety by J.E. Abraham C. Lee Construction and
Development Inc., which made possible the collapse of the 4-story bunkhouse, killing
five workers and injuring 158 others. Initial investigation of local authorities
suggested that the firm might not have a business permit since 2001.
“The management of J.E. Abraham C. Lee Construction and Development Inc. as well
as DOLE and Cebu City LGU have fallen short in ensuring safety of the workers.
They must be held accountable for neglecting strict implementation and monitoring of
OSH standards and disregarding workers’ rights to a safe workplace and shelter,” said
Rochelle Porras, EILER executive director.
Aside from the lack of permit and compliance, the fatal accident in the workplace
underscored again the precarious working condition in the construction industry
where workers have little to no choice but to stay within the project site. EILER noted
that the barracks for workers are treated as extra project costs to minimize as much as
possible, which is why these are often substandard.
“Accounts of the tragedy show that the bunkhouse were only supported by metal
braces and clamps. DOLE Department Order 128-13 series of 2013 has set stringent
standards even only for the construction of scaffolding, which should be done by
certified scaffold erectors and designed by a structural engineer. More is expected
when it comes to the shelter of the workers,” Porras said.
To prevent such deaths of the workers many labor NGOs and groups have been
calling for a mandatory and rigorous inspection without exemption. “Eton
construction in 2011, partial collapse of Ayala Land Premier building project in
Taguig (Makati Development Corporation) in 2015, Kentex fire in 2015, Semirara
Mining Corporation’s open pit coal mine collapse in 2015, HTI fire in 2016, NCCC
mall fire in 2017 among many other tragedies, emphasize the importance of a
mandatory inspection and strict compliance of companies to labor laws to guarantee
safety of workers,” Porras said.
The House of Representatives had passed the Gabriela Women’s Party- introduced
Workers’ Safety and Health Inspection and Employers Liability Decree (Workers’
SHIELD Bill) which calls for mandatory inspection and criminalization of OSH
violations. But these two provisions were removed in the Senate version of the bill.
While condoling with the victims’ families mourning the loss of their loved ones and
breadwinners, Porras of EILER said they will join them also in demanding justice.
INTERNATIONAL
ACCIDENT IN
PHILLIPINES
WORKER DIES IN SENGKANG CONSTRUCTION
SITE ACCIDENT

A 36-year-old man was killed after he was struck by a sheet pile at a Sengkang
construction site yesterday, the fourth reported death of a foreign worker from a
worksite-related incident since the start of the year.

The Indian national was working at the Anchorvale Road site, the Ministry of
Manpower (MOM) said in a statement. The Sunday Times understands that he was
carrying out piling works.

Police said they were alerted to an industrial accident at 327C Anchorvale Road at
about 9am, adding that a worker was found motionless at the scene. He was
pronounced dead by paramedics.

AFTER LONDON FIRE, 11 MORE HIGH-RISES

FOUND WITH COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL
LONDON — At least 11 buildings in Britain are clad in combustible material of a
kind similar to the cladding that was used on the exterior of Grenfell Tower, the
apartment building destroyed in London’s deadliest fire in decades, officials said on
Thursday, as they scrambled to conduct safety checks on at least 600 other high-rise
buildings.
Exterior cladding is thought to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, which
consumed the 24-story Grenfell Tower in West London in just one hour, early on June
14. The fire killed at least 79 people and left hundreds of survivors homeless.
The cladding on the building — sheets of aluminum composite material, encasing a
flammable polyethylene insulation — has been associated with high-rise fires in other
countries and its use is restricted in the United States and elsewhere. It was permitted
under British regulations, even though safety experts have long warned the metal
sheets could melt under intense heat, allowing a blaze to race through the combustible
material between them.
Over the weekend, the government ordered the local authorities to review records on
residential buildings that are more than 18 meters (about 60 feet) in height and are
clad with “aluminum-type panels.”

DEATH OF 6 AT ICC AN ACCIDENT, CORONER

RULES

A coroner yesterday ruled accidental the deaths of six workers who plunged 17 floors
to their deaths on an overloaded bamboo platform in a lift shaft at the International
Commerce Centre.

Construction workers Hui Chi-kwong, 46, Lin Xiangli, 34, Ting Kwok-keung, 43,
Wong Sai-man, 40, and Hui Tin-chung, 46, died of multiple injuries, Coroner Michael
Chan Pik-kiu said at the end of a five-day inquest. Choy Ming-cheung, 44, died from
traumatic asphyxia.

The finding angered Choy's widow, Yau Mei-na. 'How could it be an accident?' she
asked, saying the platform was three years old when their deaths occurred.

The coroner expressed his condolences to the families of the dead, most of whom
made no comment.

The workers, employed by Wang Wai Construction Works, were clearing debris on
the 2.6 metre square platform on September 13 last year. They were on the 27th floor
and plunged to the 10th when most of the bamboo platform, which they thought
mistakenly to be made of metal, collapsed. The platform, made of 10 or so lengths of
bamboo, with a few more lengths laid cross-wise, was attached to the walls.

The Labour Department, in its investigation report, made 13 recommendations to

ensure such work is done safely. Rather than adopt them, Chan suggested the
department publish the list so the construction industry could be reminded of the
safety precautions it needs to take.
'Those working in the industry should already know these,' Chan said. 'If they don't
already know, they should not be working there.'

The recommendations include having qualified people conduct risk assessments of

work platforms, keeping records of structural maintenance and safety training.

Two experts who testified disagreed about why the platform had not collapsed before
the plunge. But they agreed that it collapsed because of vibration, as a result of the six
working on it. 'Simply put, the bamboo platform could not hold up the weight of the
debris and the workers,' Chan said.

The platform was built in 2006 for the purpose of allowing workers to build a rain-
proof metal platform. The metal platform was removed in 2007 but the bamboo one
remained. At the time of the accident, a lift had not been fitted in the shaft.

Over time, debris accumulated on the platform to a height of 6 to 9 metres, with an

estimated weight of more than 24 tonnes, the court heard. Workers were standing on
top of the debris as they cleared it away.

Labour Department occupational safety officer Tsoi Wai-shing told the court that
although the platform was thought to be made of steel, it was still temporary and
should not have been presumed to be safe.

He said debris clearing inside a lift shaft was dangerous.

However, the coroner said that such a belief was an afterthought. 'If the workers
believed that the platform ... was unstable, they wouldn't have worked there,' Chan
said.

He called the men's foreman, Sze Kam-sze, a liar. Sze told the court he saw the men
wearing safety harnesses when they went into the lift shaft.

Firemen who found their bodies said they wore no harnesses.

THAI NATIONAL, 49, DIES AT TUAS SOUTH

CONSTRUCTION SITE AFTER 14M FALL
SINGAPORE - A 49-year-old Thai worker died on Friday afternoon (Oct 19) at a
Tuas South construction site after a fall from height.

A Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman said the man was shifting the zinc roof
sheets on the roof of a workshop that was under construction when he stepped on the
insulation layer and fell to the ground.

The man fell from a height of about 14m, said the spokesman. "MOM is currently
investigating and all work-at-height activity at the work site has been stopped," she
said.

The incident happened at 80 Tuas South Boulevard, and the occupier of the
construction site is HPC Builders and the man's employer is Eltraco Roofing System,
the spokesman added.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to the incident at about 3.50pm
on Friday, and the man was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene at 4.13pm.

A photo believed to be of the incident was first shared on Facebook group Safety
Watch - SG on Friday evening. In it, a body in work attire is seen lying on the ground
in front of a cherry picker, with a worker nearby looking at the body.

Columbia University Is Cited for a Cracked Building

Facade, Inviting Memories of a 1979 Death
Lori E. Gold’s sister was killed on a spring day in 1979 when a chunk of masonry fell
from a poorly maintained facade of a Columbia University building; the teenager’s
death spurred the city to enact rules for the upkeep of buildings. Today, New York’s
ever-present sidewalk scaffolding is her most visible legacy.

So nearly four decades later, Ms. Gold said she was angered to learn that an edifice
owned by the same institution has a facade so decrepit that city inspectors have issued
several violations for the risk it posed to the public — including one from nearly a
year ago.
“My sister’s death at 17 years old, with a whole life ahead of her, shouldn’t be in vain.
It should mean something,” said Ms. Gold about her sister, Grace Gold, who was a
freshman at Barnard College.

Last month, scaffolding was erected outside Columbia University’s McBain

residence hall, at 562 West 113th Street, where window keystones sit damaged, the
terra-cotta facade is cracking and a safety violation remains outstanding, building
records show.

“It makes me angry,” Ms. Gold said of Columbia’s apparent failure to comply with
the laws inspired by her sister’s death.

Much about the city’s building-safety rules have changed since that May day when
Grace Gold was killed by a 1-by-2 foot chunk of concrete lintel that came crashing
down from 601 West 115th Street, a university building. In response, the city in 1980
adopted Local Law 10, which codified the regular inspection of facades. The
inspection process was enhanced and made more rigorous in 1998 with Local Law 11,
the Facade Inspection and Safety Program.