OSHA Inspection: RKL CONSTRUCTION CORP.

Issued

Sep 10, 2002

Abate by

Oct 10, 2002

Penalty

Initial $1,500 · Current $1,250 Reduced

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 injury when turning the steering rod on an earth boring
machine:
1) On or about July 27, 2002, an employee was using a pipe wrench and
'cheater bar' to turn
the steering rod on an earth boring machine.  Due to the high amount of
torque on the steering
rod, the rod turned back suddenly, causing the wrench and 'cheater bar' to
strike the employee
in the back of the head.
Among other methods, the following are feasible and acceptable methods to
correct this hazard:
a) Convert to a remote controlled boring system, eliminating the need for
employees to manually
operate the steering rod.
b) Install a torque converter on the steering rod, to reduce the amount of
force on the rod.

Issued

Sep 10, 2002

Abate by

Sep 19, 2002