Inspection Detail

Inspection: 316518919 - C Harris Inc Dba Harris Electric

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12:00 p.m. (noon) on August 21, 2012, Employee #1 was working as an electrical power installer or repairer for an electrical contractor at a jobsite located in Orangevale, CA. The contractor had recently been awarded a contract to perform basic pole maintenance on 32,000 poles for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). Employee #1 had just been hired to help with this contract. Employee #1 had completed a line worker training program and was a certified pole climber with approximately one year of experience. As he was coming down from a transmission pole and approximately 10 to 12 feet (3.0 to 3.7 meters) from the ground, he "gaffed out" (or experienced a gaff cutout) and fell onto a pile of leaves on the ground. He sustained a fractured back. According to Employee #1, he was not free climbing. Instead, he was using a Buckingham Model Number 386699E positioning strap, which was compliant with ASTM standard F887-91. The spikes on his gaffs were longer than 1.25 inches (32 millimeters).

Keywords: E GI V, FRACTURE, ELECTRICAL, POWER LINE WORKER, ELECTRICAL WORK, BACK, ELEC UTILITY WORK, FALL, UTILITY POLE, CUTOUT--GAFF