Construction Worker Deaths on the Strip:

‘Not in this city’

Safety engineer says fundamental change impossible in build-crazy Vegas

Sam Morris

Construction workers who knew or worked with ironworker Harold “Rusty” Billingsley signed this memorial banner after he died last year at the CityCenter site.

By Alexandra Berzon

Tue, Apr 1, 2008 (2 a.m.)

The disturbing rash of worker deaths at casinos, condos and hotels being built along the Strip raises safety issues that must be addressed, safety engineers and others say. But making fundamental changes in the culture of construction safety in go-go Las Vegas will be tough.

“It’s not going to happen, not in this city,” a safety engineer for a large general contractor said Monday, speaking on condition that he would not be identified. “It’s push push push.”

In the midst of its $30 billion-plus growth spurt, nine workers have died in eight accidents at CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Fontainebleau, Trump and Palazzo. That’s equivalent to the number of worker deaths reported during the entire 1990s Strip building boom.

As the Sun reported in stories Sunday and Monday, investigations by the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found patterns of safety violations by contractors that include failing to ensure workers are properly trained, allowing them to use faulty equipment and leaving them exposed to falls by not covering or guarding holes in decking or placing temporary planks or netting below.

Many of those findings were later overturned during informal conferences between employers and OSHA administrators. Contractors succeeded in arguing that the workers themselves were responsible for or contributed to their deaths.

The deaths have prompted discussions at union halls, contractor offices and construction sites.

Many workers say speed is the main underlying cause: Crowded work sites, pressure to finish work quickly and fatigue from extensive overtime lead to unsafe conditions, they say.

Construction safety experts for labor and industry-related organizations say the fatalities and safety violations indicate that safety planning and oversight are not high priorities for contractors in Las Vegas. If safety were emphasized more, they say, research indicates that projects could be completed just as fast.

“It’s a management leadership issue,” said Emmitt Nelson, a former construction manager for Shell Oil who has conducted research for the Construction Industry Institute. “It’s related to how well you’re doing your preplanning and whether you’re putting too much emphasis on production.

“I don’t think you can say categorically that a project is too fast,” Nelson said. “You just have to make sure you’ve got the process right.”

Business agents from ironworkers union locals outside Nevada became concerned about safety practices in Las Vegas after the November death of David Rabun Jr., the third ironworker to die in 16 months.

That led to the intervention of Greg McClelland, a representative of the California-based Ironworkers Labor Management Cooperative Trust who recently began convening a safety advisory group made up of union representatives, general contractors and subcontractors.

Most large general contractors on the Strip are participating, including Perini, which oversees construction of CityCenter and Cosmopolitan, adjoining sites where six workers died in little more than a year.

“The point was to say, ‘We’re all in this together,’ ” McClelland said. “We needed to make sure everybody is on the same page and we all understand what we need to be looking out for.”

So far, the committee has discussed some specific fixes — more training, for example, and getting apprentices to wear an “A” on their safety helmets so that they’re easier to identify and oversee.

Another suggestion is to watch for fatigue among workers. Many are putting in 70 or 80 hours a week, working without days off, contractors and union representatives say. Recent studies show that heavy overtime in construction can lead to more injuries.

“One of the steel companies has identified that it needs a person who’s designated to just walk around the project talking to the men to identify those men who are fatigued,” McClelland said. “They would say, ‘Go home.’ ”

But contractors may be in a bind: They depend on workers to put in the overtime to finish the projects on the tight schedules they are contractually bound to meet, McClelland and others said. If the project is delayed, there are almost always hefty fines.

“To get a realistic, workable, safe schedule, you have to talk about the pressure from owners,” McClelland said. “It’s a tough sell.”

McClelland wants general contractors to agree on safety and scheduling provisions when they bid on projects and when they accept bids from subcontractors, even if those provisions mean the job takes longer to finish.

“We want a uniform standard that contractors will agree to in their contract,” McClelland said.

If everyone agrees to the same standard, he said, owners will be forced to slow down projects if that’s what is necessary to do the job safely.

But that position has met resistance, and safety engineers on the committee say they have little sway at their companies.

“Most of us are (at our companies) because it’s mandated to have safety people, not because we have any clout,” said the safety engineer who wished to remain anonymous. “I’m constantly telling the project managers we need to slow the pace down, but they say the owners won’t let us do that.”

Steve Holloway, vice president of the Associated General Contractors of Las Vegas, which is made up of general contractors, says they are unlikely to agree for fear they will be underbid by a company that agrees to do the job faster.

Instead, he says, contractors are talking among themselves about how they might schedule projects differently to improve safety and reduce the need for constant overtime without delaying the completion dates.

“You might not start two buildings right next to one another in close proximity,” Holloway said. “You might wait until one is almost finished to start building the other, to spread it out. You also could, for example, find a way that doesn’t make the ironworkers work overtime on several projects in a row.”

MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said his company is willing to discuss changes in time frames on future projects they put up for bid, although it isn’t convinced that a strong correlation exists between construction schedules and safety.

Plus, he said, general contractors should already be factoring in safety when they bid for a contract.

“Any professional contractor ought to be looking and making a serious and sober and realistic assessment of what it’s going to take to do a job,” Feldman said.

Safety experts from the construction industry and unions argue that the key is better oversight and more emphasis on safety by general contractors.

The Construction Industry Institute, made up of several large contractors and property owners (Perini is not a member), has extensive research showing that it is possible to prevent injuries regardless of the size, scope and speed of projects. It also has studies showing that injury-free projects can be completed faster.

The crucial factor, said Nelson, the former Shell construction manager, and others is for contractors to do enough planning and to keep up a mantra of safety.

That translates into safety meetings every day before the job begins, and then mini-safety training before every task workers perform. In each meeting, supervisors should write down the tasks and keep records.

Contractors also should investigate even minor injuries in search of underlying safety problems, the Institute says.

Discussion: 10 comments so far…

By shamelv

4/1/08 at 12:52 p.m.

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The regulations established by OSHA work if they're enforced. OSHA personnel need to show courage and resolve. If the state run office is so crippled that it can't routinely shut down these dangerous work sites, the state should hand over OSHA responsbilities to the federal level.

I've read a lot of excuses as to why a job can't be done safely. You are making excuses as to why it's okay to break the law. It's my opinion that jobsite managers and all the hands I've read about in these fatalities are guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

If this criminal negligence is being ignored on the state level, since the codes must equal or surpass the federal standards, can federal prosecutors step in and file charges?

Also, there seems to me to be a lot of money here to be made by our burgeoning trial attorney population in civil suits. I'm looking at quote after quote of "experts" in these articles who are saying, "yeah we break the law, everyone does it, etc". Sounds like easy pickings for a class action! Someone is conciously deciding not to enforce these well established codes.
By letjusticeprevail

4/1/08 at 4:39 p.m.

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I agree "shamelv". OSHA regulations would work if they were enforced. If enough job sites were shut down it would get someone's attention. My son, along with another man he was trying to save, were killed at the Orleans 2/2/07 due to neglect and the lead investigator determined that the citations should be 3 willful neglect, I forget how many repeat serious and a few others. He said the chief engineers who were there that day should be held criminally accountable for their actions, however, the acting director of OSHA NV took it upon himself to have a private meeting w/ the casino execs and reduced the citations to merely 7 serious citations. He could have sent a message to employers but he folded. NV OSHA continues to let the worker down by not enforcing their standards. Complaints on the Federal level can be filed (CASPA) and those involved should definately do so. I did and am waiting for their findings. The more they get the more they will realize the sad state that NV is in and hopefully do something about it.
By micole

4/1/08 at 5:57 p.m.

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I agree with shamelv. Criminal negligence should be considered by the District Attorney. Also, there are no more excuses for OSHA's lack of enforcement. Jimmy Garrett, Safety Manager of OSHA, needs to be held accountable for letting multiple corporations and contractors off the hook and letting our son's, brother's, father's and friends die needlessly.
By shamelv

4/1/08 at 10:31 p.m.

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I can't believe in this age of cell phone cameras and other digital devices there aren't more photos taken of job sites where proper safety codes are violated. I have to believe if workers started emailing these photos to Ms. Berzon or OSHA at the federal level, with or without a reference to the code violation it wouldn't make a difference. You guys know what's safe and what's not safe. The work will not disappear if these sites are pushed to follow the law! These codes and laws exist so you can work another day on another job site. They've been in existance since the creation of OSHA, specifically because too many of you have perished for no good reason. Safety does not kill jobs. Lack of safety kills you! If your union won't stand up for you, your sons, your daughters and the state agency created to protect you, won't do their job, it's time to get creative, use technology, the law, whatever you can, to protect yourselves and protect your absolute right to work in a safe environment on this job and the next one!!!
By shamelv

4/1/08 at 10:37 p.m.

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Again, a final note on this topic. I read a lot of baloney when I came to this town five years ago about Harry Reid the champion of the worker who through his personal experience as the son of a coal worker fought for the common man. What the heck, Harry?! Are you kidding me? Where is the great Democratic voice today? It's indistinguishable from the Republican / corporate one - that's where it is. OSHA, even on the federal level has been cut off at the knees because once Bubba Bill became the first corporate friendly Democrat in the White House, the agency went into survival mode. Encouraging states to form their own OSHA, especially here in Nevada opens the gate wide open to the type of human disaster we're seeing reported on by the Sun. Every worker accident, including the Orleans tragedy, including every worker that falls into a trench is a mark of shame for Southern Nevada, for OSHA (state and federal), for the union and for our local and state politicians.
By Disgusted

4/2/08 at 6:45 p.m.

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“It’s not going to happen, not in this city,” a safety engineer for a large general contractor said Monday, speaking on condition that he would not be identified. “It’s push push push.”

This nameless spineless safety engineer is part of the problem.

Like I've said before, I work for a non union ironworker contractor and have for the last 10 years.

The non union side is 10 times unsafe, but I guess there's more of a spot light on the strip. If you want to investigate danger in construction, come visit all these non union contractors. I hate to admit it but, I wish I was in the union.

There's alot of blame to go around. If you think an OSHA fine would have saved these preciouse lives, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG.

Turning the death of a worker to sensationlism.

Safety comes from within.
By Weatherornot

4/3/08 at 4:32 a.m.

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Disgusted, I don't know what contractor you work for, but I have worked for a large open shop contractor for the last 12 years. I would match their safety record against any contractor in the country. It does not take OSHA to make a site safe. It takes a company that cares about its people from the top manager right down to the newest worker. It is not the speed of the job that makes the difference. It is planning the work, setting the expectations for safety, and holding managers and workers accountable whenever they do not meet those clear expectations. As long as each task is planned with safety in mind, the job will finish on time and everyone can go home to their families in the same condition they came to work!
By safetytalk

4/3/08 at 7:38 a.m.

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With all respect to the families, friends and co-workers of the deceased, I disagree with many of the comments posted. The responsibility for worker safety and the site belongs to the property owner, construction manager, general contractor, subcontractor, employer and workers. State and/or Federal OSHA are not adequately staffed and are incapable of inspecting and controlling all work sites within their jurisdiction. They are also limitted as to their ability to shut down an unsafe site or work activity. The facts are that owners don't want to pay additional costs for adequate staffing by dedicated safety personnel. Construction Managers and General Contractors are reluctant to add dedicated safety staff if not reimbursed for the expense. Safety management is delegated to the project super who is also responsible for schedule and production delay. Talk about a conflict! Safety personnel are viewed by the employer as an overhead expense that delays work and eats profit. Unions are protective of unsafe workers, refuse to comply with items like 6 foot mandatory fall protection, substance abuse testing, etc. The worker is heavily involved in this equation. Sometimes out of fear of being terminated; poor training;lack of knowledge; and their own apathetic attitude, short cuts and bad habits, they place themselves and others in jeopardy. The law and regulatory agencies are no less responsible as the law has no teeth or those who administer it are reluctant to enforce it when teeth are available. The insurance companies who insure these projects do not mandate that their clients properly staff and enforce safety requirements on the job. As for safety personnel, I understand the comment but if your concern is the safety of the worker, you will not turn your back on issues, even if it costs your employment. THAT is YOUR job! Worker's will continue to die and suffer injuries that are worse than death until everyone steps up to the plate and actively accepts, enforces and discharges their responsibilities. Where they are not applied with diligence, criminal and civil charges should be vigorously pursued and I am adding negligent workers into that group.
By micole

4/3/08 at 6:57 p.m.

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Weatherornot, thank you for you comments to Disgusted. You are so very right.

Disgusted, you are the one who is DEAD WRONG. When it comes to big corporations, money talks. If these companies have to keep digging deeper and deeper into their pockets to pay fines, and as a result,they have to keep paying larger and larger Workmen's Compensation Premiums due to unfavorable ratings for the many infractions against them, then Safety moves from the Liability column of the Balance Sheet to the Asset column.
Also, job safety is an industry wide problem. It does not differentiate between union and non-union. It is my goal and the goal of all of the other families to initiate changes that make EVERYONE safer. Not JUST Ironworkers and not JUST Union employees. EVERYONE.
By perry161492

6/8/08 at 11:31 a.m.

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if OSHA does it job it will change none of this small fine hit them hard and often. when i was working at MGM. we were hearing that OSHA was spying from parking structure hotel rooms. that what OSHA should start doing