Category: Construction, Environment, Medical & Healthcare Prevent Hospital-Acquired Infections During Construction Projects TASA ID: 931 The issue of hospital acquired infections is a serious problem. According to several sources, three to four million hospital-acquired infections occur annually, with up to 80,000 fatalities. The costs of these infections are estimated to be between $4 billion and $5 billion per year (Air-Treatment Systems for Controlling Hospital-Acquired Infections, HPAC Engineering, April 2, 2008). Read more
Category: Construction, Engineering, Resources for Attorneys Forensic Engineering - A Brief Description TASA ID: 4541 Something goes wrong and there is a perceived failure. First question, what? Second question, what is wrong? When the “something” or the “wrong” involves technical issues, a forensic engineer may be engaged to answer the question. This brief introduction addresses forensic engineering as it relates to building issues. Read more
Category: Construction, Safety Open Roof Holes and Roofing Injury Prevention TASA ID: 3404 A roofing foreman and crew arrive at the season's first commercial re-roofing project, as he directs his team to load tools and materials to the rooftop, workers set up ladders to gain access to the roof above. Onsite less than five minutes and without notice, one of the roofers inadvertently loses his balance, falling onto a weathered skylight, shattering the opaque-plastic, falling 60-feet to the concrete floor below, and perishes from blunt force trauma. Read more
Category: Construction, Safety Roofing Construction Toxicity and Flammability Hazards TASA ID: 3404 In order to reduce energy costs in roofing construction, contractors install cool roofs1 aka Single-Ply Roofing, as estimated by Bob Craig in EDC Magazine, "The majority of new roofing is a white single-ply membrane, either TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). This is due mostly to new energy codes that require reflective roofing to reduce heat absorption into the structure.” Read more
Category: Accident Analysis / Reconstruction, Chemicals / Toxic Substances, Construction, Personal Injury, Safety Hidden Hazards of Confined Space TASA ID: 3404 Frequent headlines in breaking news stories convey the tragic results of yet another confined space fatality accident. With fatality statistics indicating that more than 60 percent of rescues in confined spaces result in a workplace fatality. Since most of these cases are fully preventable, sadly they involve local firefighters responding to trapped workers injured on the job. A common misunderstanding many people share is that local firefighters respond to emergencies fully equipped as technical rescuers. Having experience in structural fire control or vehicle emergency response doesn’t necessarily qualify one as a technical rescuer. Comprehensive training, practical experience, and a working knowledge can adequately prepare responders to engage as rescue professionals, not before. Read more
