CHENNAI:
A deadly lapse in routine construction safeguards — attributed to human error — has cost Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) a ₹1 crore penalty after a pair of steel I-girders came crashing down at a Chennai Metro site last week, killing a motorcyclist.
The accident occurred near L&T’s own headquarters in Manapakkam, where metro construction was underway for Corridor 5 of the Phase II expansion. According to the internal inquiry by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the tragedy was preventable and stemmed from a failure to follow basic structural bracing protocols.
At the heart of the collapse was a missed engineering step: workers had failed to insert additional lateral bracing in the centre of the I-girders. This omission placed undue stress on the fastening buckles — metal clamps designed to anchor the girders to temporary A-frame supports. Without the bracing, the girders shifted, and the buckles gave way, leading to the catastrophic collapse.
“These are not complex failures,” said a CMRL official involved in the probe. “This was a standard procedure that was simply not followed.”
The A-frames and fastening buckles are part of the temporary staging used in elevated metro construction, intended to stabilise heavy girders until they are permanently fixed. While the equipment itself was not faulty, the absence of mid-span support — a task usually verified by multiple safety checks — turned the assembly into a fatal risk.
L&T, which is the main contractor for this section, has sacked two senior safety officials: the Chief Safety Manager and the Senior ESHS (Environmental, Social, Health, and Safety) Manager. The General Consultant, responsible for independent oversight, has also removed two of its supervisory engineers for failing to detect the error during inspections, said T. Archunan, Director (Projects) and Board Member of Chennai Metro Rail Limited.
The incident has led to a full safety audit across all under-construction elevated corridors, CMRL said. So far, 700 of the 2,500 girders needed for Corridor 5 — a 47-km stretch connecting Madhavaram and Sholinganallur — have been installed.
Archunan said that the fine of ₹1 crore was levied based on the agreement CMRL had with its contractors.
More importantly, it underscores how construction risks often arise not from equipment failure or engineering miscalculation, but from lapses in human judgement and supervision. However, the incident has sparked renewed calls for tighter contractor accountability and better safety enforcement in large-scale infrastructure works.
A deadly lapse in routine construction safeguards — attributed to human error — has cost Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) a ₹1 crore penalty after a pair of steel I-girders came crashing down at a Chennai Metro site last week, killing a motorcyclist.
The accident occurred near L&T’s own headquarters in Manapakkam, where metro construction was underway for Corridor 5 of the Phase II expansion. According to the internal inquiry by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the tragedy was preventable and stemmed from a failure to follow basic structural bracing protocols.
At the heart of the collapse was a missed engineering step: workers had failed to insert additional lateral bracing in the centre of the I-girders. This omission placed undue stress on the fastening buckles — metal clamps designed to anchor the girders to temporary A-frame supports. Without the bracing, the girders shifted, and the buckles gave way, leading to the catastrophic collapse.
“These are not complex failures,” said a CMRL official involved in the probe. “This was a standard procedure that was simply not followed.”
The A-frames and fastening buckles are part of the temporary staging used in elevated metro construction, intended to stabilise heavy girders until they are permanently fixed. While the equipment itself was not faulty, the absence of mid-span support — a task usually verified by multiple safety checks — turned the assembly into a fatal risk.
L&T, which is the main contractor for this section, has sacked two senior safety officials: the Chief Safety Manager and the Senior ESHS (Environmental, Social, Health, and Safety) Manager. The General Consultant, responsible for independent oversight, has also removed two of its supervisory engineers for failing to detect the error during inspections, said T. Archunan, Director (Projects) and Board Member of Chennai Metro Rail Limited.
The incident has led to a full safety audit across all under-construction elevated corridors, CMRL said. So far, 700 of the 2,500 girders needed for Corridor 5 — a 47-km stretch connecting Madhavaram and Sholinganallur — have been installed.
Archunan said that the fine of ₹1 crore was levied based on the agreement CMRL had with its contractors.
More importantly, it underscores how construction risks often arise not from equipment failure or engineering miscalculation, but from lapses in human judgement and supervision. However, the incident has sparked renewed calls for tighter contractor accountability and better safety enforcement in large-scale infrastructure works.
Hey Shiva, How can i get in touch with you ?. I wanted more information in this matter. I am a researcher from IIT Guwahati about proactive measures for safety in construction. Please revert to s.parmarth@iitg.ac.in or drop a text on +91 9783544944
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