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On March 25, 2008, it was expected to be a wind day in Miami.
As a result, Manny Souza, a security manager at the workplace of the 47 -story Condominis Complex Paramount Bay Waterfront, told the crews to cancel a crane jump scheduled for that day.
Souza then entered a single -family house near the base of the tower, which had previously been a 1998 comedy shooting location “is something about Mary” and was temporarily used as an office for the workplace.
While sitting in the office – Souza called it “Mary’s Room” – for a meeting, the crews outside began the crane jump, Souza said.
“I felt a strong noise. And this is one of the last things I remember,” Souza said to Construction Dive.
Some parts of the crane, leaning on their monorail, unleashed about 50 feet, hitting an outrigger. Then the crane launched 350 feet and crashed on the roof of the house. The wreck buried Souza and others in debris and debris.
Two people in the room with Souza died. He and another employee were hospitalized with injuries, according to the Osha report on the incident. Two others suffered from non -hospitalized injuries.
Manny Souza
Permission granted by Manny Souza
Souza says he has no memory of the immediate consequences of when the crane fell, but he has been told that he was calling orders to his co -workers and those who respond. What did not realize until much later was that he had to be “returned”.
“I had to relive some times,” Souza said. “I was only aware of this after one of those there was. He said,” We lost you. “
Today, Souza is the Senior Vice President of Environmental Safety and Health in Samet Corp., at the base of North Carolina, who did not participate in the crane incident. It uses its almost death story to help improve workplace safety, especially around cranes.
“With my eyes, I have seen the worst thing that can happen if something is not properly managed,” said Souza.
Incidents background
Bovis Lend Leate was responsible for the construction and Souza businessman in the Miami project. Bovis Construction, based in the United Kingdom, was acquired by Australian Lendlease in 1999, which withdrew the Bovis brand in 2011. The name has been revived, but now that this Lendlease has sold your UK business To Greenwich, the private -based private capital owner, Atlas Holdings Change Business Bovis construction nameby construction enquirer.
Lendlease has since he moved away from international work focus on his business in Australia.
“Safety is always our highest priority,” said Lendlease’s spokesman in a statement shared with the construction division. “At the time of the incident, we worked proactively with Osha and relevant officials to investigate the incident, which eventually caused the subpoena to be removed.”
In fact, but OSHA’s research on collapse It resulted in an initial $ 7,000 fine for the contractor, the agency deleted the subpoena, in the database of Osha establishments.
Local news at the time of Salem, Morrow Crane, based on Oregon, as a subcontractor of the project crane. The search for Osha establishments does not show any citation for Morrow Crane at the time of collapse. The firm did not respond to the Requests for Comments on Divest construction.
Souza said that his wounds were unusual, as he did not hold a single broken bone, but the pressure of the remains that had fallen on him caused significant damage to the spinal ligaments and the muscle mass on his back. Remember to be inside and outside the hospitals and could not return to work for six months. That is, until he could no longer take it.
“Then I was crazy in the house and I begged them to take me,” said Souza. He returned to work at Lendlease until 2020.
Sharing your story
Souza has become an advocate of improving workplace safety, especially around cranes and polypastos. We talked with financial advisers and insurance groups to share the responsibility and risk involved in the crane work. This year, he joined the National Security and Security Committee of Associated Builders and Contractors.
While Souza tells her unpleasant story, her voice is measured. When he shares the details he was in the house of “there is something about Mary”, he does so to bring the levity to the narrative, despite the undeniable tragedy.
Souza does not hide emotion, but it leads with facts, almost as if you have a report. This is intentional.
“Something I had to learn soon, if I did not control the emotional aspects of this, it would not be as effective as me,” Souza said to Construction Dive. “We can talk for hours here. You will never understand the pain I hold, the emotional challenges we had. But that would not add a lot of credibility if it only contributed emotions to the table, right?”
What has changed
Luckily, Souza says a lot about cranes, according to Souza. Later that year, Osha proposed a new standard Around the safety of the crane and the Derrick, By passing the final rule in 2010.
A tattoo on the arm of Manny Souza, who says he remembered -on the day of the crane collapse.
Permission granted by Manny Souza
The review addressed the advances in related cranes and dangers, the qualifications of employees to operate, the assessment of the dangers in the workplace and the training required for the workers to recognize the dangers.
But Souza and other security leaders will tell you that, although OSHA establishes reference expectations for a safe job, there is much more security than compliance.
“Regulatory agencies play a key role in establishing security requirements, supporting implementation and ensuring accounts surrender to standards throughout the industry,” said Souza.
“My goal, however, is how we can all proactively improve security beyond the minimum requirements, especially for high -risk operations and crane work. Leaders in public and private sectors have a responsibility to set rigorous expectations of planning, supervision and execution of high -risk construction activities.”
Souza said he is impressed with private sector technology implemented to improve cranes safety since 2008, which goes beyond Osha’s rules. Includes cameras with live feed at the operators’ cabins to help prevent blind points, GPS positioning so that cranes are aware of the location and detection and prevention of collisions, such as how some vehicles automatically participate.
Beyond Security Week
Construction Safety Week, which is being held this week from May 5 to 9, is an opportunity for companies to stand, draw attention to the dangers of the workplace and began new initiatives to improve occupational health. The hard part can expand this approach for the other 51 weeks of the year.
When the crane was eventually dismantled in this job, Souza says lawyers arrived with a court order for photos. It turned back because the area below the crane was highly dangerous, despite the possibility of legal problems.
“I can say it with great confidence: most professionals would never challenge a court order due to the magnitude of the possible result,” said Souza. Finally, according to him, experts used high power lenses to take photographs from a greater and safer distance.
But this anecdote is aligned with an important aspect of Souza’s perspectives and history. When it comes to security, everyone has a different perspective on the risk and sometimes they make dangerous decisions.
That is why he says he has to reduce emotion in his defense to increase security and focus on helping people to see beyond their own risk analysis, regardless of experience.
“You feel this phrase all the time in our industry,” I have been doing it for 30 years. “And I will be honest, I don’t care about what it is.
