Dive Brief:

• Tilt-up concrete panels have to be braced once they're raised into place, and ever-larger panels that catch more wind have made it more and more important to be sure that the slab on which the braces rest can take the load.
• Federal OSHA rules make it clear that the panels have to be braced, but it's never been laid out clearly whose job it is to make sure the bracing has what it takes.
• In a new statement, the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) says it's the responsibility of the building owner's construction representative to make sure someone qualified has looked at the load the panels will put on the slab where the braces are attached and be sure it can take it, especially in corners where walls from two sides may have braces on the same slab.

Dive Insight:

TCA said it has been clear to everyone that an engineer who is in charge of lifting the panels and bracing them is responsible for making sure the braces are strong enough and that there are enough of them. Until now, though, no one has said whose job it is to make sure those braces have a strong enough platform beneath them.