This document provides an overview of safety standards for demolition according to 29 CFR Part 1926.850. It discusses preparatory operations like engineering surveys, securing utilities, and assessing hazardous materials. Standards are outlined for shoring walls and floors, maintaining stairs/passageways/ladders, protecting chute openings, and ensuring debris is dropped safely. Training and a demolition sequence are recommended. Specific incidents involving fatalities during demolition work in various years are also summarized to demonstrate why following proper safety protocols is important.

1. OSHA Office of Training & Education 1
Safety Standards for Demolition
29 CFR Part 1926.850
Draft 10 3 2018

2. • This presentation only focuses on current events AND standards cited by
OSHA

3. May 2017

4. April 2016
A construction worker who was killed
after a bridge beam fell along I-90 over
Touhy Avenue in northwest suburban Des
Plaines has been identified.
Three other construction workers were
hurt.
Sources identified the victim as Vicente
Santoyo, 47, of Berwyn

5. April 2016
Omega Demolition and Judlau are
now facing that OSHA investigation
for this morning's accident.
At 2:45 a.m. on April 5, 2016, employees were working from two aerial lifts
torch cutting the diaphragms connecting two 181 foot long bridge girders. One
girder (girder #1) was supported by two cranes, while the other girder (girder
#2) was supported by an "assist" crane. The intent was to cut girder #1 into
two pieces and remove it while the "assist" crane stabilized girder #2 until the
other two cranes could return and connect to girder #2. While torch cutting
the diaphragms connecting the two girders, the employees were working from
aerial lifts below the girders. When the last two diaphragms were being cut,
girder #2 collapsed, striking the aerial lifts and employees working in them.
One of the employees working in the aerial lifts was killed while the other
three employees were treated and released from the hospital.

6. April 2016

7. Oct 2016
OSHA inspectors determined the worker was
standing in an aerial lift and torch cutting steel
bracing between the two beams when one of the
beams fell.

8. Nov 2015
• Tim Phifer, operator who
survived smokestack demolition
accident, jailed in St. Clair Co.
• Tim Phifer is charged with a
felony count of possession of
explosives, authorities
confirmed to ABC 33/40.

9. April 2015
• Bonney Lake OR
• A couple in their 20s and their baby son were
killed when the slab from a sidewalk
construction project fell from a bridge onto
their truck
• A contractor was working on the permanent
bridge barrier on State Route 410 when the
section fell Monday

10. January 2015
• "They should've been
demolishing the middle first, and
then they would've been OK,"
said Linwood Howell, a senior
engineer for Austin, Texas-based
XRStructural Engineering
Services, which routinely
inspects bridges for the state of
Texas.
• The bridge "was not of sufficient
strength to support the equipment due
to an engineering error," according to
the report.
A trackhoe excavator, which weighed
around 90,000 pounds, was on the
bridge when it fell.
• The "engineering survey for
demolition of the (bridge) was
inadequate in that (it) did not account
for the fact that it was a doubled hinged
bridge," the report said.

11. November 2014
• NY worker dies in demo incident.
• At the time of the collapse, the
building’s interior partitions
were being demolished by
Formica Construction Inc., a
company that was involved in a
previous fatal accident.

12. Oct 2013

13. Sep 2013
• Zaccard said a concrete slab
about 10 feet by 30 feet fell from
the two-story building onto the
cab of Valek's backhoe.
• Concrete slabs with rebar can be
rusted or damaged
• It can’t hold the weight once a
support is cut..

14. Sep 2013
Crews were tearing down the century-old St. Mary’s Church in PA when a portion of it
collapsed on the owner of the excavating company.
Brdaric Excavating was the company tearing down this church.
They had made a lot of headway and things were running smoothly until a large part of
the building collapsed on the company’s owner John Brdaric.

15. December 2014
• See the similarity?

16. July 2013
After and Before
OSHA found that Campbell had removed
critical wall supports three days before
the collapse — an action that it calls
“willful, egregious violations” of OSHA
standards — and parts of lower floors
before removing upper floors, also willful
violations.
Fines total $313,000 for Campbell
and $84,000 for Benschop.

17. July 2013
• Citation 2 Item 1 Type of Violation: Willful
• 29 CFR 1926.854(h): Wall sections more than one story in height were
permitted to stand alone without lateral bracing and were not left in a
condition safe enough to be self-supporting. All walls were not in a
stable condition at the end of each shift.
• a) Worksite. 2136-38 Market Street: On or about June 5, 2013, the
employer permitted an exterior masonry wall approximately 3 stories
in height that was not self-supporting and without lateral bracing to
stand alone exposing employees to crushing hazards.

18. Which Standards Apply?

19. Demolition [1926.850 – 860]
19
REMOVAL OF STRUCTURAL OR LOAD-SUPPORTING MEMBERS
SHORING AND BRACING OF WALLS AND FLOORS
ENGINEERING SURVEY PRIOR TO DEMOLITION OPERATIONS
CHUTE OPENING PROTECTED BY A GUARDRAIL
NOT DROPPING MATERIALS OUTSIDE EXTERIOR WALLS
SUBPARTT
5
6
6
6
48
850(b)
854(b)
852(a)
852(e)
850(a)

20. Preparatory Operations
• Engineering survey shall be
made, by a competent person
• In Writing
1926.850(a)

21. Local Demolition and Debris Removal Plan (LDDRP)
ZONE ‘A’ CARREFOUR FEUILLE and ZONE B FORT MERCREDI and CITE 9.
1. Security and Safety
2. Demolition and Debris Removal Management
3. Building Assessments
4. Demolition ‘flowchart’
•The DDM Coordinator and The Project Engineer in consultation with the Demolition Expert will compile the following :
a. Risk assessments highlighting ‘High – Medium – Low’ level risks relating to the specific job site.
b. Means and method statements of work completed in detail for all stages of the demolition and debris clearance
operations.
c. Detailed time line programme for the works showing various on and off the job site tasks
d. and the expected respective completion dates.
5. Hazardous and Dangerous Material Procedures.
1.In buildings to be demolished :
 If material is suspect ;
Take a small piece / sample
Place it into a clear plastic sample bag and securely seal the opening to the bag.
Write clearly on a label, the building reference number, its address and the location where in the building the sample was
taken from and,
Deliver the sample to the DDM Coordinator who will,
Forward the sample to a recognised and approved laboratory for testing.
 If the results of the laboratory test prove to be positive ;
Appropriate steps must be taken to remove and dispose of the hazardous material in strict accordance with the method of work
statement to be developed and provided by the Project Engineer and approved by the DDM Coordinator.
If there are any obvious signs of suspect materials that may contain a hazardous substance (asbestos
If the results of the laboratory test prove to be positive :
6. Building Demolition Sequence in Zone A and Zone B.
•Public buildings (schools, hospitals, churches and public assembly buildings)
•Private Buildings with the ‘Approval to Demolish’ provided to UNOPS by UNHABITAT.
7. Debris Removal Sequence
8. Training.
9. Human resources

22. a) Management Team:
•Project Manager - 1
•Project Coordinator - 1
•Operations Manager - 1
•Demolition Expert / Engineer - 1
•DDM Coordinator - 1
•Logistic Manager - 1
•Field Engineers (Senior) - 2
Job Site Management Teams:
Job Site Demolition Machine Operators:
Job Site Demolition Operatives:
Eight (8) Crews will be composed, consisting of;
•Skilled Demolition Topmen - 2
•Demolition Labourers - 4
•Banksmen - 2
Debris Transport team
Transfer Station Team.
Triage Labourers and Crusher Operators Team.
10. Equipment Required :
a) Demolition
 Means and Method of Works at the Job Site Locations:
b) Debris Removal
c) Triage / Transfer Station
11. Technical and Safety Protocols for Demolition
12. Safety Protocol for the TRIAGE / Transfer Station Job Site.
13. Work documents
14. Record of the completion of training courses for all operatives :
Safety Awareness Courses to be developed by UNOPS Demolition Expert.
First aid Course to be developed by Demolition Expert and First Aid Adviser.
Note : First Aid Kit will be located on the job site.

23. Preparatory Operations
• When employees are required to work within a structure to be
demolished which has been damaged by fire, flood, explosion,
or other cause, the walls or floor shall be shored or braced
1926.850(b)

24. Preparatory Operations
• All electric, gas, water, steam,
sewer, and other service lines
shall be shut off, capped, or
otherwise controlled, outside
the building line before
demolition work is started.
1926.850(c)

25. Preparatory Operations
• It shall also be determined if
any type of hazardous
chemicals, gases, explosives,
flammable materials, or
similarly dangerous substances
have been used in any pipes,
tanks,
1926.850(e)

26. Preparatory Operations
• When debris is dropped through
holes in the floor, the area onto
which the material is dropped shall
be completely enclosed with
barricades
• Signs, warning of the hazard of
falling materials, shall be posted at
each level.
1926.850(h)

27. Preparatory Operations
• Employee entrances to
multistory structures being
demolished shall be
completely protected by
sidewalk sheds or canopies
1926.850(k)

28. Stairs, Passageways, and Ladders
• All stairs, passageways, ladders
shall be periodically inspected
and maintained in a clean safe
condition.
1926.851(b)

29. Stairs, Passageways, and Ladders
• In a multistory building, when
a stairwell is being used, it
shall be properly illuminated
by either natural or artificial
means
1926.851(c)

30. Chutes
• No material shall be dropped
to any point lying outside the
exterior walls of the structure
unless the area is effectively
protected
1926.852(a)

31. Chutes
• All materials chutes, or
sections thereof, at an angle of
more than 45 deg. from the
horizontal, shall be entirely
enclosed
1926.852(b)

32. Chutes
• Any chute opening, into which
workmen dump debris, shall
be protected by a substantial
guardrail approximately 42
inches above the floor
1926.852(e)

33. Chutes
• Where the material is dumped
from mechanical equipment or
wheelbarrows, a securely
attached toeboard or bumper,
not less than 4 inches thick
and 6 inches high, shall be
provided at each chute
opening.
1926.852(f)

34. Removal of Walls, Masonry
Sections, and Chimneys
• No wall section, which is more
than one story in height, shall
be permitted to stand alone
without lateral bracing
1926.854(b)

35. Removal of Walls, Masonry
Sections, and Chimneys
• Structural or load-supporting
members on any floor shall
not be cut or removed until all
stories above such a floor have
been demolished and
removed
1926.854(d)

36. Removal of Walls, Floors, and
Material with Equipment.
• Floor openings shall have
curbs or stop-logs to prevent
equipment from running over
the edge
1926.856(b)

37. Mechanical Demolition
• During demolition, continuing
inspections by a competent
person shall be made as the
work progresses to detect
hazards resulting from
weakened or deteriorated
floors, or walls, or loosened
material
1926.859(gb)

38. Summary
• Always start at the top
• Basements can cause equipment
to fall in
• Remove lead and asbestos first
• Evaluate structral members
before cutting