Let’s think about this!

Find the dangerous point in the figure below.

Gang form with the form tie bolt taken off fell and hit a worker below.

Summary of the Accident

At around 17:05 on March 28, 2007 (Thursday)
At the construction site of “xx” apartment
The accident victim (male, age 60) is the operation
foreman for the frame construction cooperating
company.
While moving to a nearby container after covering
the gang form material pile with a canvas cover
A gang form whose middle and lower form tie
bolt had been taken off to lift it fell because of a
strong wind.
It hit the accident victim, killing him.

Description of the Site

Construction site of a new apartment (11 buildings, 877 residential units)
- Frame construction is being carried out
(overall process rate: 23%; frame process rate: 35%).
 Process of Accident Occurrence

The plan for the day was for 2 teams in Building A (“Form board teams 1 and 2”:
lines 1,2; “Form board teams 3 and 4”: lines 3,4) to lift the gang form from the 14th
floor to the 15th floor and to dismantle the channel form inside the 14th floor. On the
day of the accident, the number of workers assigned to each operation from 07:20
for Form Board Teams 1 and 2 (12 workers) and Teams 3 and 4 (13 workers) is as
follows:
· Gang form lifting and level signaling: 3 workers
· Horizontal wood installation operation and dismantling of the interior
channel form : 9~10 workers
※ Horizontal wood installation operation: Carried out to fix the slab concrete
plane and channel form
After carrying out the horizontal level operation for the bottom of the 15th floor
between 07:20~09:30, Teams 3 and 4 (13 workers) planned to carry out the following:
- Two out of the three workers assigned to lifting carried out removal operation for
the lower and middle form tie bolts for the gang form and the side wedge pin.
- One worker went to Building B.
- The remaining 10 workers dismantled the channel form inside the 14th floor and
lifted the gang form inside the elevator pit until 14:30. They then carried out form
installation operation inside the 15th floor of Building B because the wind had
started to blow.
 Process of Accident Occurrence

At around 4:30 in the afternoon, it started to rain; the accident victim and 2 others
covered a material pile (anchor bolts) on the ground with a canvas cover and pressed it
down with channel forms.
- The 2 fellow workers went to get additional channel forms but sought shelter in a
nearby container instead when the wind and rain gathered strength.
The accident victim (operation foreman, age 60) was also moving to a container about
3m from that of the fellow workers when he was hit on the head and the hips by a
falling gang form. He died while being transferred by 119.

The gang form that fell off the structure was part of the gang form installed outside
the entire lines 3, 4. It was the exterior gang form (weight: about 0.75tons) around the
bathroom 2 of line 4. To lift the gang form, only the upper form tie bolts on 10 spots
and side upper wedge pin on 2 spots were left; the lower form tie bolts (10 spots) and
middle form tie bolts (20 spots) were taken off. A strong wind blew in this state,
detaching the anchor from the structure and damaging the concrete. This caused the
gang form to fall off.
 Process of Accident Occurrence

The bottom slab concrete for the 15th floor was placed in the morning two days
before the accident occurred (March 26). Until the day the accident occurred,
however, the weather had not been satisfactory (March 28).
- Since too many bolts were taken off, the gang form for concrete that had not been
sufficiently cured fell off due to strong winds (it fell off as the bent part of an upper
form tie bolt (sway anchor) straightened instead of being cut due to the insufficient
strength of the concrete)

Form retention period and meteorological state

If the concrete compressive strength is tested

Member Concrete Compressive Strength (Fcu)

Expanded foundation, column, side of a
5Mpa or higher
beam, side wall
Fcu≥2/3Fck (Fck: strength in the design
Slab and bottom plane of a beam, inner
criteria)
plane of an arc
14Mpa or higher, however
 Process of Accident Occurrence

If the concrete compressive strength is not tested

Cement Quick Drying Regular Portland Mixed Cement Type

Temp. Portland cement Cement B
20℃ or higher 2 days 4 days 5 days
Less than 20℃
3 days 6 days 8 days
10℃ or higher

Korea Meteorological Administration Internet Material

Temp. (℃) Daily Average Wind

Date Daily Rainfall (㎜)
Min. Max. Speed (m/sec)
3.26 2.5 16.5 1.5 3.0
3.27 6.9 13.8 2.8 -
3.28 4.0 19.3 2.6 12.0

Concrete mixing strength for this site: 25-240-15

 Objects Involved and Falling Distance

Gang Form: 4,670㎜ X 3,100㎜; Weight -- 0.75tons

Fastener Upper form tie bolt (sway anchor): 10 (interval :200∼600㎜)

Middle form tie bolt (one touch): 20
Lower form tie bolt (sway anchor):10

Distance and height from the point the gang form is located to the point where it fell

▪ Horizontal distance: 36.3m

▪ Height: 37.1m
Upper
▪ Range: 51.9m
form tie bolt

State in which it fell off the

concrete and straightened
when the gang form fell
Overall view of the site
 Process of Accident Occurrence

Concrete that fell off as the form tie bolt

came off when the gang form fell off

Part where the gang form fell off

 Process of Accident Occurrence

Material (gang form tie bolt) covered with a canvas cover and
channel forms by the accident victim
 Cause of the Accident

Defective dismantling method (excessive dismantling of bolts)

When dismantling a gang form, fasteners such as tie bolts and wedge pins must be taken off
according to a specific order while being supported by a lifting device such as a tower crane.
Measures for preventing sporadic accidents due to falling and impact needed to be taken.
Nonetheless, fasteners were taken off to speed up the work. In this state, an accident occurred
because a gang form fell owing to a strong wind and due to concrete with insufficient strength

The form retention period was not observed

- The structure was damaged when an anchor came off due to the insufficient strength of the
cement. This is because the form retention period was not observed (10℃∼20℃ or lower;
regular Portland cement: 6 days or more).
- For concrete placed on the site, the criteria applied depend on whether or not compressive
strength test is carried out. For this site, appropriate compressive strength calculation was
impossible due to the deteriorating meteorological conditions. Appropriate strength needed to
be obtained with respect to the age according to the daily average temperature. Nonetheless,
the gang form fell off the concrete because the appropriate curing criteria were not observed.
 Measures to Take to Prevent Accidents

Observe safe dismantling operation methods

When dismantling a gang form, fasteners such as tie bolts and wedge pins must be taken off
according to a specific order while being supported by a lifting device (T/C). Measures for
preventing sporadic accidents due to falling and impact must be taken during dismantling so that a
gang form does not fall from the structure

Observe the form retention period

- Observe the retention period so that the strength as clearly stipulated in the Concrete Standard
Specification from the Ministry of Construction and Transportation can be obtained by curing for
an appropriate amount of time while sufficiently considering the meteorological condition and
daily average temperature at the site.
- Applying the concrete compressive strength in the Concrete Specification may be difficult
because the concrete strength specified by the cement supplying company may be different from
the concrete strength for the cured concrete at the site in case of adverse meteorological
conditions. Strict measures must be taken to prevent the gang form from falling off by securing
the appropriate strength. This is possible if the curing period based on the daily average
temperature is observed.