U.S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Admistration

Directorate of Construction

Office of Construction Services

SHIB 10-15-2003

Purpose

The purpose of this Safety and Health Information

Bulletin is:

1. To alert tilt-up contractors, constructors, and

erectors about the hazards of

unsupported panels toppling over and causing

severe injury or death to workers.

2. To inform tilt-up contractors, constructors

and erectors not to remove braces from

panels until all structural connections are

complete and properly secured.

3. To identify regulatory requirements for, and

provide safety recommendations to employers

and workers involved in tilt-up construction.

Background

Federal OSHA’s Directorate of Construction received

notice of a multiple fatality accident on a construction

project located in Greensboro, North Carolina. An

inspection of the construction site was conducted by

North Carolina Department of Labor Division of

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH-NC). During

this inspection OSH-NC identified hazardous

conditions occurring during a tilt-up panel erection

operation at a large retail warehouse. 1

Accident Investigation

The OSH-NC accident investigation revealed:

1. Three employees working at the construction

site took a lunch break in the shade provided by a

twenty (20) ton, 23’ high by 19’7’’ wide,

inadequately supported, reinforced concrete tilt-up

wall panel.

2. The unbraced wall panel collapsed killing all

three employees.

3. The tilt-up erection employer failed to install

adequate bracing and/or removed temporary braces

on approximately fourteen (14) tilt-up wall panels

prior to the completion of all permanent connections

to the structure.

This Safety and Health Information Bulletin is not a

standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. The Bulletin is advisory in nature, informational in

content, and is intended to assist employers in providing a

safe and healthful workplace. The Occupational Safety

and Health Act requires employers to comply with hazardspecific safety and health standards as issued and enforced

by either the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), or an OSHA-approved State Plan. In

addition, employers must provide their employees with a

workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause

death or serious physical harm under Section 5(a)(1), the

General Duty Clause of the Act. Employers can be cited

for violating the General Duty Clause if there is a recognized hazard and they do not take steps to prevent or

abate the hazard. However, failure to implement any

guidelines in this bullentin is not, in itself, a violation of

the General Duty Clause. Citations can only be based on

standards, regulations, and the General Duty Clause.

1 Tilt-up panel construction a construction technique of

casting concrete elements in a horizontal position at the

job site and then tilting and lifting the panels to their final

position in a structure.

Tilt-Up Panel Construction Hazard

Safety and Health Information Bulletin
4. Joist welds, grout, and pour back strips, as

specified by the contract documents, were not all in

place prior to temporary brace removal.

5. A number of “K” series steel joists designed

to be attached to the embed plates were not welded

or properly secured.

6. Supervisors and employees lacked adequate

knowledge about measures necessary to address

hazards associated with tilt-up construction.

OSHA Standards and Suggested Safety Tips for

Tilt-up Construction

1. Employers shall initiate and maintain such

programs as may be necessary to provide for

frequent and regular inspections of the job site,

materials, and equipment by designated

competent persons. 1926.20(b)(1) through

(2)

2. Employers shall instruct each employee in the

recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions

and the regulations applicable to his work

environment to control or eliminate any hazard

or other exposure to illness or injury.

1926.21(b)(2). For example employers

should instruct supervisors and workers not to

remove temporary braces until roof structure

and/or columns are in place to stabilize the

building.

3. Employers shall comply with all of the

requirements for precast concrete

construction. 1926.704

4. Employers should ensure that tilt-up panels are

properly braced to resist wind and lateral

forces.

5. Employers shall use only certified welders

when welding steel joists to embeds and

inserts on tilt-up wall panels.

Further Information

Further information can be obtained from

Occupational Safety and Health Administration,

Directorate of Construction internet website

www.OSHA.gov.doc or by contacting the Office

of Construction Services at 202-693-2020.

Additional information is available from

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

www.ansi.org

American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM )

www.astm.org

Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA)

www.tilt-up.org

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