THE removal of tower cranes from the unfinished Imperial Pacific International casino-hotel in Garapan has begun, but IPI’s former safety consultant believes it is not being done properly.
Tower crane No. 6 is seen at the unfinished Imperial Pacific International hotel-casino in Garapan.
DR Safety Consultant LLC President David Rillera expressed concern about the safety of the members of the community and IPI’s in-house workers who are tasked to remove the tower cranes.
“Scaffolding planks are used on a tower crane frame to get on the tower crane ladder,” he said in an interview. “Any manual addition or add-on would have to be approved by the tower crane manufacturer and engineer-stamped. As you can see, the planks and railings are rusted and pose a huge safety hazard for employees using this to get on the tower crane.”
Rillera also noted that the tower crane ladder and the cage are rusty, and there is no fall protection when the workers step off the planks to get on the ladder.
Rillera reiterated that his company, by contract, should still oversee the tower crane management, but they stopped working for IPI because the casino investor has not been paying them.
IPI, he said, still owes his company $100,000, and not $1,000 as earlier reported.
IPI declined to make a comment.
