VMI construction death
leads to state investigation
The death of a construction worker at a Virginia Military Institute building site last month has triggered a state investigation into a subcontractor's flawed safety record.
Ray Roland Porter Jr., 39, of Evington, was an employee of Bat Masonry, the subcontractor on the site. Porter died at the scene Dec. 6 after falling 56 feet. According to Lt. Col. Stewart MacInnis, associate director of communications and marketing at VMI, Porter was working on the Third Barracks building site on the VMI campus.
The fatality was deemed accidental by the VMI Police Department, but Virginia Occupational Safety Hazards (VOSH) has opened two investigations, one against the general contractor, Nielsen Builders of Harrisonburg, and the other against the subcontractor, Bat Masonry of Lynchburg.
"Each one [contractor] has different expectations, so they're being measured with a different stick," said Lt. Col. Dale Brown, director of construction at VMI.
While Nielsen's safety record is nearly unblemished, Bat Masonry's record shows multiple Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations, a majority of which are classified as serious and pertain to fall safety. OSHA is a federal agency that establishes and enforces protective standards for workplace safety and health through investigations and planned inspections.
According to the OSHA Web site, 30 of Bat Masonry's 33 inspections have resulted in OSHA citations. Its most recent violation was issued for its work on the VMI Leadership and Ethics Center last October. Moreover, 17 OSHA citations against Bat Masonry since 1998 have related to fall safety.
VMI has used Nielsen for a handful of projects, according to MacInnis. Bat Masonry, though used by other major Virginia universities including Washington and Lee University, the University of Virginia and Hampden Sydney College, has never worked with VMI before these two current projects.
Brown said he was unaware of the number of citations against Bat Masonry. He said VMI's role in hiring subcontractors is that of an overseer.
"They [Nielsen] provide us with a list [of subcontractors] to look at that are pre-approved for bidding…Our role is to basically approve Nielsen's bidding," Brown said.
Bat Masonry was a low bid, meaning it proposed to complete the project for the lowest price.
Brown said VMI considered each subcontractor's overall safety record as provided by Nielsen's evaluations, yet VMI "did not have that level of detail" that outlined the extent of Bat Masonry's violations. Nielsen's application form for subcontractor approval asks for elaboration on any OSHA-classified serious violations in the past three years.
Nielsen's contact for the project did not return phone calls. Bat Masonry declined to comment because of the open investigation. According to MacInnis, the investigation could take up to six months.
The construction project is part of a $300 million renovation of the VMI campus and is still scheduled to be completed by August.
To view OSHA citations, go to www.osha.gov.
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