b'A RE W EN AEnd of an eraTragically, Tau died in 1996 after he fell from a steel structure being erected at Weighing close to 115kg and well over six-feetCarrington Polytechnic. It was a major blow. tall, Tau cut an imposing figure, yet he wasFor someone of that calibre to be killed, like a ballet dancer on steel.it was a real wake-up call for the whole industry, says Mike.Dixon & Haddon led the ensuing change. Tau could get out in theThe company decided to do all of the steel middle of a circular beam anderection out of cherry pickers. It meant dance up and down, it wasretraining people, and making sure they were either strapped on to steel or lifted in incredible balance, poetry ina personnel platform. It came at a financial motion, remembers Mike. cost, which hurt for a time because the majority of the industry hadnt yetSo, if he walked across the steel, his crewfollowed suit.all walked across. He was like our kaumtua,Dean took on the role of steel erection we just followed his lead, says Dean. manager and was paramount in developing There were moves to try to introduce safetyand fine-tuning all of the new processes.Above: Tau Morgan.practices to the industry. But, says Dean, theToday, the team builds large modules on rigging fraternity was very united after thethe ground. It spends added time at the front union days and resisted calls for workers toend exploring details of the design to identify wear safety gear. No one was going to forceways to limit workers exposure to heights and them to wear work boots or harnesses.make it easier for erection. Prior to that, the That was the culture.rigging crew would simply receive a drawing and it was its challenge to work out how to erect the structure safely. 61'