I picked this link up off of a pro HVAC site simular to this one, and was wondering how you try to prevent this type of accident from happening?

My thoughts go out to the family.
http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=42154&pagenumber=1

To prevent.......don't work equipment live.

For faster response.....don't work alone.

GJ

They didn't give enough information to prove the guy was electrocuted. At 60 years old, he might've just had a heart attack. It still sucks.

..That's truly awful...what a way to go...I really feel bad for his family,esp. so close to Christmas and all.. Poor guy,..if only he had someone there with him...he may've been saved,and if not..at least spared the indignity of lying up there for 2 days...why would his shop-steward let a 60 yr old guy go up in a ceiling ALONE for???? smells like$$$$$$$ to me, they did'nt want to pay another guy...that sux,..in my opinion!!!

Here is the text from the December 19 Newsday (Long Island) story. My condolences to the family. I can't believe that these d****** stooges from Macy*s didn't have the presence of mind to FIND OUT what happened to one of their own when his car was sitting in the parking lot and he never clocked out. .

Body in Store Over 2 Days
Macy’s Worker Found In Ceiling Apparently Electrocuted

By Sumathi Reddy
Staff Writer

December 18, 2003, 9:32 PM EST

Theresa Pignatelli didn't think it too unusual when her longtime companion didn't return to their Copiague home Monday night.

That's the kind of tireless worker George Poldrugovaz, 60, was, she said Thursday. An electrician for Macy's for nearly 20 years, Poldrugovaz worked night shifts and weekends, rarely taking a day off.

But Tuesday night, Pignatelli thought Poldrugovaz's absence was a little unusual, and by Wednesday morning she was becoming anxious when she got a call from the Macy's store in Douglaston, Queens: They didn't know where he was.

That evening, Pignatelli learned from Macy's that Poldrugovaz's body was found in the store's ceiling. Police said Poldrugovaz, last seen Monday morning, appeared to have been electrocuted, his dead body there for more than two days.

A Macy's official wouldn't comment on the incident Thursday except to say it was under investigation and they are "deeply saddened" and wanted to express their "sincere sympathies to the family."

Pignatelli and her son, Ralph Stanzione, said they are livid that store employees didn't detect Poldrugovaz's absence earlier. "The way he died," Pignatelli said, crying. "The way he died. That store. They don't have help. You can't have one person doing everything."

Stanzione of Lindenhurst said that after his mother was alerted that Poldrugovaz was missing, he started calling local police departments and yelling at store officials. "I told them, 'I'm gonna come in myself' ... " he recalled. "You're in the store. You're not looking in the borough of Brooklyn. You're looking in a store."

Stanzione and Pignatelli questioned why store employees didn't suspect something was wrong after he hadn't punched out and his car was in the parking lot.

"To be left in the ceiling in the foyer like that in the lobby and not to even do the simplest thing to retrace the steps, it's disrespectful," Stanzione said. "I'm not happy with that whole situation," he added. "It's a tragedy, what happened."

Friends and family said Poldrugovaz grew up in Brooklyn, studied engineering at a local college and served in the Army for several years.

They described him as a simple and quiet man, tall and skinny, who liked to take his boat out and go fishing.

Poldrugovaz worked at different Macy's stores for about 20 years and hoped to retire next year, Pignatelli said.

"We wanted to enjoy" retirement, Pignatelli said. "We wanted to enjoy it instead of having him get up early every day in the morning and come home late at night and he's in all that traffic ... "

"He never even took a day off," she said. "He was so good."

Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.

Here is the December 18 story from the same paper:

Electrician's Body Found at Macy's

Wil Cruz

December 18, 2003

Shoppers at a Queens Macy's went about their holiday business for two days this week unaware that an electrician lay dead in the store's ceiling, police said yesterday.

George Poldrugovaz, 60, of Copiague, was last seen at the Douglaston Macy's at 8 a.m. Monday, police said. Poldrugovaz, who was an electrician for Macy's, apparently was electrocuted, police said. His body was found yesterday.

"Nobody thought he was missing," a police source said, "because they thought he might have been working at another store."

Police said fellow employees became suspicious when Poldrugovaz had not shown up at any of the locations where he normally works. Workers also had noticed Poldrugovaz's car outside the store at 242-02 61st Ave. with the hatch open.

Macy's officials could not be reached for comment last night.

Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.

and the good die young.....

Sven thanks for the follow up on the story.

But I wonder what can be done to prevent somebody from going missing on a job site due to an injury.

In our building security checks on all the electricial and mechanical rooms as part of their rounds. They have to swipe a barcode at the far end of the area to prove that they did check the room.

Any temporary trades get an key card id badge and if not turned in at the end of the day somebody goes looking to see if they are still in their assigned area.

In new construction such as the new arena they are building in Winnipeg I am not sure what could be done to track everybodys work location short of a small GPS on your tool belt.

perhaps implanted brain chips mbhydro ??

Very sorry to hear this.

In every factory i have ever worked in the rule was your never working late or weekends unless you have another guy in the shop and you know what each other is doing and check on each other regularly by radio or in person.

the buddy system leaves us one man band acts something to desire here...

Good Lord!,
This is not the way that I would like to exit this world, the ultimate insult to a veteran electrician.
It seems to me that there has been a real break-down in communication in this case.
But, not wishing to kick a guy when he is down, I can't help but think, that even though he was working alone in a roof space, he should have told someone where he would be working and what time he would be out of the roof.
Surely someone at the store must have known that he was working up in the roof.
Would there not be a step ladder or even a lead-light cord near the access way into the roof space?.
The need for a Plan B, if you work alone, is very important, in case something does go wrong.

My sympathy goes out to this man's family and friends, too. I suspect this hard-working soul was one who felt it was his duty to disturb as few people as possible and to work 'behind the scenes' rather than make his presence known, especially in a posh environment where a tradesman performing work might be less welcome. There should be a safety policy where work such as this (confined space, after-hours, etc) should only be done by a pair of workers to improve the likelihood of assistance or emergency aid. I know a lot of people prefer to work alone but a company such as Macy's ought to have enough budgeted to cover the cost of a second worker given the alternative cost of risk and it should already be an element in their risk management plan. A car in the parking lot ought to be a clear indication of a situation needing further attention, regardless of whether a person MIGHT be working elsewhere.