The glass-shattering construction commotion that hushed a bustling Library Quad on Jan. 31 occurred due to a lapse in construction safety protocol.

Landmark Construction President Joe Bittaker said an employee operated a specialty forklift without attending the required site-specific safety meeting that covered information on the topographic challenges posed by the location.

“The gentleman in question showed up after the safety briefing and did not get the (necessary) information upon arriving,” Bittaker said.

In an e-mail sent Feb. 1, Director of Facilities Planning and Construction Services Victor Takahashi said the construction accident occurred when the specialty forklift the employee was operating “hit the lower level storefront (window) as it attempted to dump gravel into the planned Japanese (rock) garden.”

The garden’s installation was in conjunction with the addition of a Japanese tea room to the Library’s lower level. The broken window was one of six that had been recently installed for the tea room. Facilities Services Associate Vice President Ron Richardson said both the garden and tea room projects remained on schedule and are expected to be completed by mid-April.

Bittaker, who declined to identify the employee by name, said he was not even scheduled to operate the forklift that day, but wanted to keep the crew productive.

“There was another operator who attended the safety briefing but had to go across campus. This (operator who broke the glass) thought he was helping by moving things along,” Bittaker said. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right way to help out.”

The operator, Bittaker said, has worked for Landmark for a “long time,” was certified to operate the materials handler and was not hampered in job performance by anything other than a lack of knowledge.

However, he was reprimanded through the company by being “written up,” being suspended one week without pay and being forbidden from operating equipment for two months, Bittaker said.

“This is the first time an incident like this has happened for us,” Bittaker said.

Since the incident earlier in the semester, Richardson said there haven’t been any changes in the Facilities Services department’s safety procedures because there is no need.

Richardson said contracts with construction companies outline safety requirements like mandated safety meetings, but workplace safety are primarily for them to uphold.

“We monitor those requirements on those projects?conduct inspections to see they’re complying with those guidelines,” Richardson said. “It’s the contractors’ responsibility to maintain a safe work environment. It’s the University’s responsibility to ensure (they) do.”

Bittaker said he was impressed by how “proactive” The Facilities Department was during the incident.

“They would’ve taken action if we weren’t already taking care of it,” Bittaker said.

“No one but our operator was in danger. Any time you have a machine with its wheels in the air, there’s always danger.”

Marilen Bugarin can be reached at [email protected]