The incidents spurred legislatures in Florida, Washington and Indiana to consider strengthening safety and training standards, according to news accounts.
Dennis O'Rourke, president of the Crane Certification Association of America, a safety and training group based in Vancouver, Wash., said tower cranes are simple and reliable, but a lack of standardized and appropriate training in working with them has occasionally proved fatal.
Most tower crane accidents occur when they're being extended in height - as in Miami and New York - and when they're being dismantled or lowered, O'Rourke said.
The causes for accidents during those phases can include the improper attachment or detachment of the large sections of the crane, improper use of tools and failing to follow the sequence of procedures prescribed by the manufacturer, O'Rourke said.
"What I have seen about other tower crane accidents [is that] the errors made were very fundamental, not technical. They should not have been done, and it smacks of very poor apprentice training," O'Rourke said. "To eliminate these types of problems we've been talking about, we need to start thinking about putting in place regulations that don't just say what to do, but how to do it."
Umanzor's death was the seventh construction site fatality statewide this year. Twenty-two people died in such incidents last year, down from 44 the year before. None was crane-related, officials said.
Two accidents occurred at the Annapolis Towne Centre site last year. In April 2007, a Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. crew leader was hospitalized after receiving a 15,000-volt jolt through his hands. Also that month, a 25-year-old worker was injured when a 15-foot scaffold collapsed.
Umanzor worked for Miller, Long & Arnold, a subcontractor working under Bozzuto Development Corp. on the 208-unit Mariner Bay apartment complex. He was described by a Bozzuto executive as a "longtime employee" who had been part of a crew responsible for erecting, dismantling and maintenance of tower cranes. Attempts to reach relatives were unsuccessful.
Executive Vice President Toby Bozzuto said in a statement that the company was "tremendously saddened about today's accident. Our hearts and thoughts go out to this employee's friends and family. ... We work every day to ensure that our construction sites are safe and secure places of work, and we will continue to do so, now with an even stronger commitment."
