OSHA Inspection: IC TERMINAL HOLDINGS

Issued

Dec 3, 1998

Abate by

Dec 30, 1998

Penalty

Initial $6,300

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish employment and a place of employment which were 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 conditions listed below:
On or about 11 Jun 98, at the Illinois Central RailMarine Terminal
(ICRMT), a subsidiary of
IC Terminal Holdings, Convent, LA at the ICRMT pier along the Mississippi
River, Connex-
Metalna, the manufacturer of the Gantry Ship Unloader, was in the process
of conducting the
25 percent overload portion of the acceptance testing required for
Maritime Crane certification.
The Gantry Ship Unloader, rated for 40 metric tons, was equipped with a 50
metric ton load (25
percent over rated capacity). The 50 metric ton load had just reached the
full extent of the
unloader's boom when the Gantry Ship Unloader fell into the Mississippi
River due to
inadequate engineering design of the counterweight system. ICRMT
contracted with Connex-
Metalna to design and manufacture the Unloader utilizing design
specifications provided by
ICRMT. Connex-Metalna utilized engineering data and specifications for a
similar but
significantly different unloader, located in Mobile, Alabama. The data
and/or specifications were
never verified as appropriate engineering design for the crane to be
tested at ICRMT. By
utilizing the data and specifications used for the Mobile, Alabama crane,
the counterweight for
the ICRMT unloader was insufficient to support the crane. ICRMT failed to
provide adequate
oversight of the engineering design and manufacturing which exposed
employees and other
contractor personnel located on the crane in the operators cab and the
machinery house (approx
160 and 180 ft above river level, respectively) to the hazards and
injuries related equipment
failure as a result of inadequate engineering design and the crane falling
into the river, which
was a contributing factor to the death of one of the employees that was in
the operator cab at
the time of the incident.