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PSE Lineman
06-01-2007, 09:37 PM
http://www.komotv.com/news/7775912.html

Rumor has it the truck came off the show room floor 6 months ago.

LostArt
06-02-2007, 07:44 AM
Gracious, that's awful! And infront of elementary students. What make is that truck? I can't tell. Is it a Ford?

I know we have posted about these booms before, but what factories are making the most of them? Anyone know? And does the dealer make them and then send them somewhere else to attach the equipment to them?

PA BEN
06-02-2007, 08:22 AM
http://www.avistacorp.com/news/ I Know a lot of linemen at Avista I'll try to find out more info on the truck. Avistas employees are very close and I know his famility will be taken care of.

PSE Lineman
06-02-2007, 10:17 AM
The chassis is an International , don't know what model. The boom is a "late model versa-lift." I'm getting this info through my supervision at Puget Sound Energy.

PSE Lineman
06-02-2007, 10:26 AM
This is from a Spokane newspaper.


Friday, June 1, 2007
Utility worker killed at school event
Nick Eaton
Staff writer

An Avista Utilities employee died and a school teacher was injured Thursday during a science demonstration witnessed by about 600 students at Hiawatha Elementary School in Othello, Wash.
Line foreman Robert "Bob" D. Smith, 50, was in an elevated utility bucket along with a teacher at the school's annual egg drop. The truck's extended boom separated from its base, and the bucket crashed to the ground, according to a news release from Othello Police Chief Steve Dunnagan.
Smith and fifth-grade teacher Melissa Martinez were thrown from the bucket. Smith died from apparent head injuries, the release said.
Martinez, a first-year teacher at the school, was taken to Othello Community Hospital. She was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and was transferred to another hospital for further care, police said.
A 23-year Avista veteran, Smith lived in Othello and his now-grown children went to Hiawatha Elementary, fourth-grade teacher Kathy Carlton said. Smith had been worked the annual experiment for years.
"He loved doing it," she said. "He loved being a part of it."
to the ground, according to a news release from Othello Police Chief Steve Dunnagan.
Smith and fifth-grade teacher Melissa Martinez were thrown from the bucket. Smith died from apparent head injuries, the release said.
Martinez, a first-year teacher at the school, was taken to Othello Community Hospital. She was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and was transferred to another hospital for further care, police said.
A 23-year Avista veteran, Smith lived in Othello and his now-grown children went to Hiawatha Elementary, fourth-grade teacher Kathy Carlton said. Smith had been worked the annual experiment for years.
"He loved doing it," she said. "He loved being a part of it."

The demonstration started about 1 p.m., and involved student-constructed devices that protect an egg dropped from 20 to 30 feet. Several teachers had gone up to drop the eggs, which are part of a "fun science" curriculum in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, Carlton said.
About 45 minutes into the demonstration, the bucket crashed. The children were "a good distance away" and none was hurt, said George Juarez, Othello School District superintendent. School employees immediately took the children inside the school.
"They were scared. They were concerned," Carlton said. "They knew it was an emergency situation, so they were concerned."
In addition to the kindergartners through sixth-graders, staff members and some parents were in attendance.
"A lot of (parents) took their kids home," Carlton said. "A lot of them came in the rooms with us to make sure things were OK."
Counselors were quickly called
"We know that the bucket fell to the ground, but we don't have any information about how, or structurally what happened," Avista spokeswoman Jessie Wuerst said.
Investigators from Avista, the Othello Police Department and the state Department of Labor and Industries responded to the incident. Labor and Industries will continue the investigation.

BigClive
06-02-2007, 12:46 PM
It's bad enough that the boom failed, but in that situation it's a tragedy. No real load in the bucket either.

Things like this really make me squirm. Some of the access equipment I get sent is so old that the concept of it failing at height is always in my mind.

It'll be interesting if they reveal just what caused the boom to fail at the base like that.

PA BEN
06-02-2007, 01:35 PM
I just found out that Bob Smith was in the same apprentice class as me. Great guy he well be missed. This is an e-mail from ESCI





An Avista Bucket Truck, A Versalift, broke at the turret mount going 30
feet to the ground, killing the 50 year old operator and injuring a
teacher. Sadly enough it happened at a school with kids watching. There is
a video clip at http://www.kxly.com/video_search/
We have grounded our Versalift VST5000 until
we hear back from versalift as to the cause. I strongly suggest everyone be
advised of the situation and contact Versalift for more information.

Bull Dog
06-02-2007, 03:06 PM
This is the same truck I had for 3years international with a versalift boom. We never had a problem with it one never knows i guess. My condolences to his family.

BigClive
06-02-2007, 09:42 PM
If you look at the video mentioned above they show a shot of exactly where it failed. It's not some weird metal fatigue or weld failure. The main boom rotational point appears to have somehow sheared some twenty studs or bolts to fail like that from what's visible. Very odd. It could be that there was a bad batch of bolts/studs or that the machine had been subjected to a serious mechanical force at some time in it's short life.

This is a terrible and unpredictable tragedy. I feel utterly not only for Bob's family and friends but also for him in the moments of the occurrence of this horrible event.

I bet we've all felt that "sloppy boom" sensation when on a slight gradient where we've momentarily felt like the boom was going over. This was unfortunately the real thing.

upntheair
06-03-2007, 02:33 AM
I'd just like to add my condolonces to the family and friends.
This was an awful accident and as Clive says it will be interesting to see what caused it. I used Versalift booms for several years in the UK and found them to be very good and dependable, however only those who have been operating that particular boom will know it's own history.

PA BEN
06-03-2007, 08:30 AM
There's two videos. Scroll down to the second one. It shows the turret mount. I heard the truck was a year old.

US & CA Tramp
06-07-2007, 09:00 AM
I knew and worked with Bob and he was a great guy. I sure hope his family gets in touch with Rusty White (817-253-1358) ASAP. From experience I know that Avista does not take care of there own! mY Prayers are with Bob's family.

wudwoker51
06-07-2007, 09:42 PM
:( Thoughts and prayers to everyone affected, by this tragic accident. This is one of worst I've ever heard of, you just don't ever know.

PA BEN
06-08-2007, 07:52 AM
I knew and worked with Bob and he was a great guy. I sure hope his family gets in touch with Rusty White (817-253-1358) ASAP. From experience I know that Avista does not take care of there own! mY Prayers are with Bob's family.

Tramp I hope you’re just not popping off about Avista, you know management sucks thing. I know a lot of lineman at Avista, been around them for 23 years. Went to apprentice schools at Avista, WWP at the time with Bob. His nick name was Dick Head. I haven’t seen him for a wile but he was always fun to be around. Other then typical union issues at Avista they take good care of there employees. I know of linemen that were injured at work and the utility took very good care of them.

woody
06-09-2007, 10:26 PM
my condolances to the family...also forgive my brothers for their lack of manners. For shame PA. woody.

PA BEN
06-11-2007, 09:18 AM
Wooly if I said something wrong I apologize for that, and my heart and prayers do go out to the family:(

Here's some info on the boom I received in an email.

The truck was on a lease/purchase and had been totally inspected and
certified back in August and regular inspecitions since. The truck i s
normally used off to the side or off the back of the truck. In this case
the foreman had gone over center and was hanging over the passenger cab
door. Nine bolts/nuts had come loose, all in one row, on the lower turrit.
When the foreman went over center and swung to the front of the cab, the
nine bolts were under stress and pulled out and failed. Had he stay to the
side or the rear of the truck the accident would probably not have
happened. And, in fact the truck had been used sucessfully in the past few
days off to the side and back.

thrasher
07-09-2007, 09:28 AM
Received an Urgent Service Bulletin #122 today from the local Versalift dealer. Stated there had been a recent accident where the bolts holding the rotation bearing to the pedestal had failed. The accident investigation showed several bolts missing prior to the failure and several of the others backed off prior to the failure. The bulleting warned all operators to start a program of regular inspection of critical mounting bolts.
We heard UNOFFICIALLY that nine bolts of the 20 were missing. Also the truck was two years old at the time of the accident.

Bull Dog
07-09-2007, 05:54 PM
Talked to mechanic he told me that nine bolts were missing. Some bolts must be inspected by removing inspection covers on sides of turret. He told me that wasen't done so some missing parts were not seen. He said the truck just had a recent inspection. They attended a meeting on this accident with Versalift and thats the word they got. We have our bolts marked so we can see if they move and thus are loose. If marks are not lined up then we know the bolts are loose. Some kind of blue stuff they put on top of bolt heads and on turret. I was told someone will be in a lot of trouble for this I'm not shure who.

PA BEN
07-09-2007, 08:33 PM
Talked to mechanic he told me that nine bolts were missing. Some bolts must be inspected by removing inspection covers on sides of turret. He told me that wasen't done so some missing parts were not seen. He said the truck just had a recent inspection. They attended a meeting on this accident with Versalift and thats the word they got. We have our bolts marked so we can see if they move and thus are loose. If marks are not lined up then we know the bolts are loose. Some kind of blue stuff they put on top of bolt heads and on turret. I was told someone will be in a lot of trouble for this I'm not shure who.

We have the blue stuff here too. The nine bolts missing is true and the truck was a lease to buy. It was a year old.

BucketHead
12-12-2007, 11:19 AM
We have the blue stuff here too. The nine bolts missing is true and the truck was a lease to buy. It was a year old.

Hope no one minds me chiming in on this. I'm with an aerial bucket distributer and I lurk here because I like knowing what lineman care about because you guys use what I build.

I have personally installed the exact model of lift that failed in this accident and I know who installed the lift and what they probably did wrong.
Mind you, these are all assumptions and I have only seen and heard what you have seen and heard. (However I've been installing this stuff for 30 years so...)

The installer of the lift gets this particular unit in 2 pieces from Versalift. They install the base and turret assy on the truck and then have to bolt the boom weldment on. These are the bolts that failed. I'm guessing the installer either forgot to install them all or forgot to go back and torque them all to spec.
It appears they also forgot to use the "sentry seal" on the bolts afterwards. The blue stripe is suppose to be put on all the critical fasteners after they are torqued. All this stuff does is make it obvious when the bolts have loosened. There is either a crack in the "seal" stripe or the stripe doesn't line up anymore. You guys might want to check these bolts everyday as part of your walk around. The guys that installed the lift are the guys who made the truck body. I don't know who would have authorized them to do the installation of the equipment.
So the equipment may have been destined to fail from the start. But the accident could have been avoided if a knowledgeable inspector was used during the lifts annual inspection. But thats the industry's dirty little secret. There is no certification process by any agency to accredit the inspection company. You literally need only a business card with your name on it to be an "inspector". Maybe the inspection company had a good record before this but there is no excuse for missing the fact that critical fasteners are loose or missing. That's the first thing that should be on the check list.
Lastly, and I hate to say it, but the bucket operator has some responsibility for his own safety. This is a perfect case in point. You should know where the critical fasteners are- it's in the manual- and you should look at them as part of your daily walk around of your equipment. It's easy to get too comfortable with your bucket truck. Better to cover your own butts by spending 2 minutes double checking the obvious stuff everyday.

Be Safe,
Buckethead

old lineman
12-12-2007, 09:15 PM
It's been a while since I have commented on this site but this one has gotten me up and running.
About 5 years ago one of the utilities here in Ontario had their boom fall of of a ralatively new aerial device. It too was a Versalift to my recollection and was about one year old.
The boom got hung up on the underbuilt telephone and didn't cause any injuries. Only by luck as we can see.
Trusting my memory again it seems that about 7-9 bolts had lost the nuts holding them in place. the rest couldn't withstand the stress and the nuts sheared the threads which caused the catastrophic failure.
Of course they went after the manufacturer who in turn said,"well you didn't do your duty according to the owners manual".
The owners manual states that these bolts are to be retorqued after so many hours of operation or every 3 months. The previous post says check them daily.
Myself I can't visualize a lineman, truckdriver, grunt or any one else crawling under the truck in this weather on a daily basis to point a flashlight (torch for Clive) in a hole to look at bolts which will look the same today, tomorrow and the next day. Even if they are loose.
As they say there is something wrong in Denmark.
Why aren't these nuts torqued and retained with a wire through the nuts to prevent them from backing off.
Human nature will prevent diligence in visual inspections on a daily basis. It may say it in the manuals but you and I know it ain't gonna happen.
The manufacturer should either use nylock or crimped nuts but that might cost and extra $5.00.
ANSI standards should dictate here. Bolts holding helicopter rotor blades on don't come off.
The Old Lineman

BigClive
12-12-2007, 10:16 PM
I noticed on the Geni S65 cherry picker I had recently that the turret to boom connection was easily inspected and had all the nuts marked and locked. the whole thing was actually a seriously well designed piece of kit from a maintenance perspective. That said. Although I gave the machine a quick visual check at the start of each day, I didn't specifically examine the turret nuts. It's just not something you expect to have to do.

BucketHead
12-14-2007, 03:10 PM
The owners manual states that these bolts are to be retorqued after so many hours of operation or every 3 months. The previous post says check them daily.
Myself I can't visualize a lineman, truckdriver, grunt or any one else crawling under the truck in this weather on a daily basis to point a flashlight (torch for Clive) in a hole to look at bolts which will look the same today, tomorrow and the next day. Even if they are loose.
The Old Lineman

I know these daily inspections don't happen consistently from experience. The manufacturer should have an obligation to make a simple visual inspection adequate to keep a guy safe. No one is going to crawl around his truck with a torque wrench.

I suspect the Versalift that failed also didn't have the bolts installed the correct way because someone said a cover had to be removed to see the sentry seal stripe. Since the stripe goes on the nut side it means the bolts were installed 'nuts down' instead of 'nuts up'. When they're 'nuts up' the striped nuts are easily viewable for movement, or worse case the bolt falls completely out and leaves an obvious hole where the bolt use to be.

Old lineman is correct, they use to wire tie all these nuts. Must be a reason they stopped, maybe that type of bolt wasn't as strong?

woody
12-17-2007, 09:58 PM
Learned alot about the manufacture and whatever about the equipment and the accident. But still don't understand your need to call the victim by his nickname here or anywhere....where his family might go to later. Your lack of class is the only thing that upset me. YOU HAVE KIDS AND SO DOES THE DEAD. woody

Bull Dog
12-18-2007, 01:47 PM
The mechanic at the meeting on this accident told me the bolts were missing nine of them. Thats all i know except what i posted earlier. I think he meant they never got installed in the first place. When the inspection was done this was not caught cause the company inspector they hired did not remove the cover to check them. Who do they use to inspect these trucks? My company uses a outside contractor.

old lineman
12-18-2007, 07:38 PM
The mechanic at the meeting on this accident told me the bolts were missing nine of them. Thats all i know except what i posted earlier. I think he meant they never got installed in the first place. When the inspection was done this was not caught cause the company inspector they hired did not remove the cover to check them. Who do they use to inspect these trucks? My company uses a outside contractor.

There might be a bit of confusion in the terminology we're using.
When the mechanic says, "missing", were they actually gone or just out of the holes.
The aerial device I spoke of had evidence that the bolts had just dropped out of the holes.
It seems that remenants of them were still there. Either the nuts or the bolts. I'm not sure which.
I don't think anyone would be that neglectful to never have put them in in the first place. That would be criminal.
The Old Lineman

Bull Dog
12-18-2007, 07:59 PM
The story I got was when the boom was mounted to the truck the nine bolts were not installed. Thus it was just a matter of time before the boom fell to the ground. This came from a meeting with all parties involved.

johnbellamy
01-09-2008, 10:38 PM
................

PA BEN
01-16-2008, 08:45 AM
What I Was Told Was That The Bucket Was In To Put The Old Boom On A New Truck, The Mechanics Used The Wrong Grade Of Bolts, And Thats Why It Failed, Makes You Think Twice About Bucket Rides For Kids At Rodeo's, Fairs And Safety Demo's.

Read the first part of this thread. I went to apprentice school with Bob, and know a lot of hands at (WWP) Avista. Lets just do our part and preflight our trucks daily.