OSHA Inspection: UNITED PARCEL SERVICE

Issued

May 13, 1998

Abate by

Jun 12, 1998

Penalty

Initial $2,975 · Current $2,975

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish a place of employment which was free from recognized hazards that
were causing or
likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that
employees were exposed to
the hazard of being struck by parcels with rounded sides, such as tires,
at the inclined belt
transfer slides.  Reference: ASME/ANSI B 20.1 - 1987, 5.13(a), the
unconfined and free fall
of material at transfer points that may result from ricocheting or
trajectory shall be prevented
if it creates a hazard to personnel.
a) United Parcel Service; employer did not implement and enforce a safe
parcel handling
procedure to ensure personnel would not be struck by tires or other
packages, capable
of rolling and jumping stops or over traveling slides, at the secondary
sorting hub and
at the trailer loading facilities.
1. On March 24, 1998 an employee was struck in the chest by a tire that had
rolled down the secondary sort hub slide.
2. On February 4, 1998, an employee injured his right hand when struck by
a tire
rolling down a slide.
While ultimate responsibility for correcting the hazard rests with the
employer, given his/her
superior knowledge of the work place, feasible and acceptable methods to
correct this hazard,
but not limited to:
1. Removal of tires and similar shaped parcels from the conveyor belt
system and
transporting them by tram to the loading sites.
2. The placement of all tires and similar shaped parcels in tight fitting
containers such
as boxes.
3. The placement of removable banding to provide corners or edges to
prevent the object
from rolling.
4. The revision of the employees' manual to incorporate acceptable
handling procedures
and the training of the personnel in the proper procedures.
5. An accountability program to enforce the acceptable handling
procedures, ie.
referencing shipping labels to determine the origin when a parcel is not
handled
according to the approved procedure.