Murder by Electrocution

by David MacCollum

Overview

Approximately four construction workers are killed every day in the U.S., but for some reason there is little public outrage. David MacCollum, long a champion of injury prevention by design, brings to life the challenges workers face in dangerous jobs. We know how to prevent most of these deaths. MacCollum creates a story that makes us care. Anyone who has encountered opposition when trying to improve the safety culture by including design-based-safety must read this book. It tells safety professionals what they need to hear not what they would like to hear.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940014479776
Publisher:	David V. MacCollum
Publication date:	05/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	580 KB

About the Author

David V. MacCollum is a licensed, professional engineer in Arizona and California. Early in his career, he became known as a leader in the prevention of construction injuries and death by removing the hazardous conditions that caused those deaths, developing alternate safer designs or safety accessories.
In the mid-1950s, approximately 1,000 lives were being lost every year as the result of tractors rolling over on operators and crushing them. In 1957, as an engineer for the Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program, MacCollum developed the first structural design criteria for tractor rollover protective canopies. The design requirements stated that the upright posts on the protective canopies had to be of strength sufficient to resist twice the weight of the tractor applied to the canopy roof, without distortion. In most instances, this design standard prevents rollover of tractors and other equipment because the canopy serves as a fulcrum, stopping the machine from rolling more than ninety degrees and is strong enough not to fail in a complete rollover.
In 1968, during the Nixon administration, U.S. Secretary of Labor George P. Schultz appointed MacCollum to the advisory committee of the recently enacted Construction Safety Act.
In 1972, MacCollum retired from Civil Service to establish an engineering practice that focused on developing safer construction equipment and facility design. His clients included a manufacturer of tunnel structural support systems in Switzerland, NIOSH research contractors, safety research organizations, and as an authority for numerous litigators with regard to construction equipment hazards.
In 1975, the membership of the American Society of Safety Engineers elected MacCollum as President and later honored him as a Fellow. Recently he was inducted into the Construction Safety Council and Veterans of Safety’s International Safety and Health Hall of Fame. During his career, he has authored three engineering textbooks, published by major textbook publishing houses and used by safety specialists worldwide, and over 400 articles and newsletters regarding hazard elimination.
David has been an active supporter of his community and Arizona, which is the setting for numerous events in many of his writings. He has served on two safety boards for the governor of Arizona, a board member of an electric utility, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on national safety issues.