As part of its settlement with Indiana over safety violations in the death of a student videographer at football practice last year, the University of Notre Dame has launched a website publicizing the hazards of aerial lifts.
On Oct. 27, 2010, 20-year-old film and marketing major Declan Sullivan died when strong winds knocked over the hydraulic scissor lift he was standing on while videotaping a football practice. Sullivan had expressed concerns about a severe wind advisory that day on social media. However, the team’s staff claimed it was unaware of any warnings.
About 30 people die each year in the United States as a result from aerial lift accidents.
While originally fined $77,500 for safety violations, the university agreed to pay a $42,000 fine in June. The most serious charge against it was that it knowingly put employees in an unsafe situation and also failed to heed National Weather Service warnings on a day when wind speeds reached 53 mph. The school and the state later reached a settlement reducing the charge from a knowing violation to a serious violation.
The website, LiftUpRight.org, was developed with the Indiana Department of Labor and promotes aerial lift safety for universities, colleges and high schools. The need for proper equipment setup, training for those who use it, awareness of weather conditions (the campaign urges the grounding of lifts whenever winds exceed 28 mph) and someone taking charge of safety procedures are stressed on the site.
Notre Dame is working with the National Federation of State High School Associations, Collegiate Sports Video Association and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to spread awareness about the new website.
According to IOSHA spokesman Chetrice Mosley, “the launching of the safety campaign fulfills Notre Dame’s settlement agreement with the state.”
University officials acknowledged that their safety procedures were inadequate. According to university spokesman Dennis Brown, “our hope is that some of the things we learned from our investigation will help higher education and also in high schools know some of the safety measures that need to be in place.”
Notre Dame also announced in March that it will now use remote-controlled cameras to video tape practices.
The Irish are not alone in their safety-first approach. The University of Florida has installed new steel towers along its football practice fields for its videographers, which stand in contrast to the hydraulic scissor lifts that were used at Notre Dame.
“With the Notre Dame tragedy, we looked into what our policies were,” Florida senior associate athletic director for operations Chip Howard told the Gainesville Sun. “We felt comfortable we still had an effective plan, but we looked into permanent structures because they were the strongest and safest. We met with our funding committee and were able to get it approved.”
UF spent $675,000 to build the towers, which each rest on a three-foot thick concrete pads that are 20 feet by 20 feet. The towers have electrical outlets and permanent roofs. Each tower also has a lightning rod to deal with frequent lightning strikes that occur in Florida.
