Miami scaffold collapse leaves 1 bystander dead, 5 workers injured

Dive Brief:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Miami Building Department are investigating a scaffold collapse at a high-rise, luxury Brickell Avenue condominium job site that resulted in the injury of at least five workers and the death of one bystander, the Miami Herald reported.
Miami Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Joseph Zahralban told the Herald that the injured workers at the Echo Brickell project did not sustain life-threatening injuries and that the bystander died from a "cardiac incident" as he ran in attempt to miss falling debris.
Workers were using a crane to load material onto a cantilevered scaffold when it collapsed, possibly from the weight. Action against the general contractor or developer is dependent on the results of OSHA's and the city's investigation.

Dive Insight:

Miami's downtown Brickell district is home to major financial centers, bars, restaurants and high-priced residential units. Condominiums in the Echo Brickell range from $1.7 million to more than $42 million, with completion set for spring of 2017.

Miami, along with other cities like New York and Washington, DC, have experienced building booms over the last several years, but with upticks in construction also come increased concerns over safety.

New York City saw the number of injuries and accidents double since 2014, with high-profile crane accidents and worker deaths suggesting a willingness to forego adequate training and oversight in an effort to get buildings opened as quickly as possible. In response, the New York City has implemented measures such as requiring certified Site Safety Managers be present on projects 15 stories or higher, or bigger than 100,000 square feet, and launching a new program for crane use in windy conditions.

Critics of New York City's safety push have said it is overreacting with other initiatives, such as the increase in stop-work orders issued by the city's Department of Buildings. The agency shut down 23% more construction projects, or portions thereof, in the first half of 2016 than it did in the same period of 2015, but agency officials said the increased enforcement is necessary to safeguard workers.