How did your construction team do over the summer holiday?
I will share feedback, which happened on one of our projects. As I mentioned, the focus must be on safety, especially immediately prior to holidays. One of the contractors was performing CCL compaction on a very steep slope with a rubber-tire sheepsfoot compactor when the compactor ended up losing traction and began rolling backward down the slope—eventually turning, which caused the machine to flip over and roll over and over, to the bottom of the slope.
The great news is that the operator was not seriously injured. Whether this was a lack of focus on the operators part, or perhaps the operator trying to push the limits of the machinery is yet to be determined.
Not following our advice, the same site opted out of moisture maintenance for the weekend, resulting in the rework of several acres of CCL, which, prior to the weekend, was prepared for geosynthetics deployment. As a result, the geosynthetics deployment was pushed back until the end of the week, causing an unwanted delay in the project.
Field Insights
Always be proactive in the field—whether you see something that is a safety issue, or a construction concern. Bringing things to the attention of others can save lives, time, and money spent on a project and increase the overall safety culture and project quality.
No question or suggestion should be viewed as too small, especially if it is something that has to do with safety. Documenting your conversations can save both you and the company you work for, so take the time to document, regardless of how busy you are.
One of the first year’s I was working as a CQA inspector, I was performing part-time inspection for a landfill gas system installation. The contractor was installing a valve in an excavation approximately 15-20 feet deep without the proper trenching safety requirements. I informed the contractor of my observation, and my concern for the potential of huge chunks of the clay caving in and crushing someone. The contractor laughed it off, and I immediately informed my supervisor and the company health and safety officer, documented all conversations in my field book and took supporting pictures.
Before I returned to the office 15 minutes away, one of the workers in the trench was nearly killed when a large chunk of the clay sidewall broke away and headed directly at him. The quick thinking of the excavator operator/foreman probably saved his life, as he used the bucket to push the employee out of the way of the heavy clay chunk. The process of saving the guy’s life broke his leg.
