Lack of controls was behind the fatal construction elevator accident in Sundbyberg last year, according to the accident investigation commission's final report. The investigation shows that similar deficiencies may exist at other workplaces.
When a construction elevator collapsed nine floors at a construction site in Sundbyberg, Stockholm, last year, five people died. The causes of the accident were established on Wednesday in the accident investigation commission's final report.
The investigation is very comprehensive, we have tried to find causes and how we can prevent it from happening in the future, says investigation leader Gideon Singer.
Multiple reasons
The report shows that the screw connections that were supposed to hold together the mast sections of the construction elevator were missing.
The screw connections were likely missing already on November 1 when an elevator heightening was made, but it was not discovered then or during the controls or measures taken afterwards.
We found that the control measures intended to catch assembly errors were not applied and the lack of controls has led to the absence of screw connections not being detected, says Gideon Singer.
Risk of similar deficiencies
The accident investigation commission has also investigated whether it could be a systematic problem.
There, they have come to the conclusion that the requirement for controls of construction elevators is not sufficient to ensure safety and that similar deficiencies may exist at other workplaces, which can pose a significant safety risk.
Therefore, the accident investigation commission recommends that the Work Environment Authority, among other things, investigates how the control system can be strengthened.
The accident investigation commission has also submitted recommendations to the affected companies, which have implemented several measures to improve safety after the accident.
