OSHA Inspection: REICH INSTALLATION SERVICES, INCORPORATED

Issued

Sep 10, 2004

Abate by

Oct 13, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,375 · Current $900 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 falling or dropped loads or
objects:
(a)New QVC Warehouse - Employees used a job-made rigging system,
consisting
of 5/8 inch
diameter three strand twisted nylon rope, wire rope clips, screw pin
shackles, blocks, and two
forklifts, to hoist a job-made metal lifting pallet containing metal
storage rack components.
The employees hooked one end of the nylon rope to the metal lifting
pallet, then ran the nylon
rope through a block attached to a beam on the ceiling about seventy (70)
feet above the
ground, then ran the nylon rope through a fairleading block attached to
the tow pin of a parked
Caterpillar forklift, and finally attached the nylon rope to the tow pin
of a second Caterpillar
forklift.  An employee drove the second forklift forward, pulling the end
of the nylon rope and
causing the metal lifting pallet to rise overhead.  This job-made rigging
system exposed
employees to dropped/falling loads or objects as follows:
(1)The metal lifting pallet plus the storage rack components weighed about
700 pounds,
which exceeded the working load limit of 375 pound for the 5/8 inch
diameter twisted
three strand nylon rope.  (The nylon rope had a breaking strength of 9,000
pounds.
The foreman had tied two knots in the load end of the rope in order to
attach a hook
with a shackle, and the foreman had tied a knot at the other end of the
rope in order to
form a loop to attach a shackle to connect this end of the rope to the tow
pin of the
pulling forklift.  These knots reduced the rope's breaking strength by 50
percent, to
4,500 pounds.  The working load limit of fiber rope, including nylon rope,
equals the
breaking strength divided by the design factor.  The Cordage Institute
standards give
design factors in a range from 5 to 12 and say to use the high end of the
range for lifts
where death or injury can result if the rope fails.  The breaking strength
of 4,500
pounds divided by the design factor of 12 equals a working load limit of
375 pounds.)
(2)The employer used screw pin shackles rather than safety shackles to
attach the load
hook to the nylon rope, to attach the block to the beam on the ceiling, to
attach the
fairlead block to the tow pin of the parked forklift, and to attach the
pulling end of the
nylon rope to the tow pin of the pulling forklift.  Screw pin shackles can
roll under
load, causing the pin to come loose and the load to drop.
(3)The employer used two wire rope clips, one on either side of the knot
used to form the
loop on the pulling end of the nylon rope.  The employer also used a wire
rope clip on
the load end of the nylon rope above the second knot above the load hook
to hold
together the dead and live ends of the nylon rope.  Wire rope clips are
clamping
devices designed to secure the ends of wire rope not nylon rope.  Wire
rope clips
could damage nylon rope, causing eyes or loops in the nylon rope to slip
and the load
to drop.
AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THESE HAZARDS INCLUDES, USING A PROPERLY RATED AND INSTALLED
MANUFACTURED HOIST TO LIFT THE LOAD.
VERIFICATION REQUIREDTION

Issued

Sep 10, 2004

Abate by

Oct 13, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,375 · Current $900 Reduced

Issued

Sep 10, 2004

Abate by

Oct 13, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,375 · Current $900 Reduced

Issued

Sep 10, 2004

Abate by

Oct 13, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,375 · Current $900 Reduced

Issued

Sep 10, 2004

Abate by

Oct 13, 2004

Issued

Sep 10, 2004

Abate by

Oct 13, 2004

Penalty

Initial $825 · Current $600 Reduced

Issued

Sep 10, 2004

Abate by

Oct 13, 2004

Penalty

Initial $825 · Current $600 Reduced

Issued

Sep 10, 2004

Abate by

Oct 13, 2004

Penalty

Initial $825 · Current $600 Reduced