OSHA Inspection: COLORADO SPRINGS MARBLE & GRANITE, INC.

Issued

Jun 2, 2006

Abate by

Jul 20, 2006

Penalty

Initial $1,500 · Current $1,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The
employer is not
furnishing employment and a place of employment which is free from
recognized hazards
that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees, in that
employees are exposed to the hazards of crushing injury from unstable
natural stone slabs
during slab transport operations:
a)The employer failed to ensure that proper slab handling techniques were
used to
protect employees from crushing hazards. Employees tasked with removal and
positioning of granite slabs were exposed to crushing hazards during those
operations.
During the transport operations, employees were required to tilt the slabs
to anear
vertical position. These slabs, some weighing in excess of 400 pounds,
were stored on
an A-frame rack. The employees were then required to balance the slabs
vertically by
hand while attaching the slab tongs (pressure gripping lifters). This
operation was
done while the employee was standing in front of the slab, in the danger
zone.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to
correct this hazard
is as follows:
a)Institute and enforce a policy in which employees are prohibited from
standing in the
danger zone of unstable and/or hand supported granite slabs.
b)During the slab transport operations, employees should lift the slabs to
the vertical
position from the ends so as to be out of the danger zone should the slab
fall. If a
mechanical below-the-hook lifting device is required to be placed on the
slab, the slab
should be mechanically stablized or should be resting at a slight angle
(not hand-
supported) against the A-frame rack while the lifting device is situtated.
A spacer may
be inserted behind the slab to be lifted to provide an open space at the
top to facilitate
insertion of the mechanical lifting device.