OSHA Inspection: WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY

Issued

Mar 22, 2006

Abate by

Mar 27, 2006

Penalty

Initial $70,000

General-duty citation text

Title 40.1-51.1(a) Code of Virginia: At this inspection site, 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 struck-by hazards while
working near retaining walls along Washington Metropolitan Area Transit
Authority (WMATA) train
tracks.
On October 1, 2005, an employee picking up electrical cords was struck by
an WMATA train while between
track # 1 and the retaining wall.  He subsequently died of his injuries on
October 15, 2005.  The victim was
part of a work crew that had been drilling weep holes into the retaining
walls.  Members of the work crew
crossed track #1 approximately 6 times during the work shift.  At the time
of the accident, the crew had
completed its work and was cleaning up, and tools and equipment were being
transported across tracks #2
and  #1 to the loading gate area which was located on the track #1 side.
The
"third rail," which is energized
while trains are running, was not de-energized while the work crew was
crossing the tracks, although it had
been shut down the day before the accident so employees could carry tools
and equipment across the track.
The investigation revealed that supervisors of the work crew did not
obtain written work orders for work on
track # 2, but were instead told verbally to complete the work (a work
order was obtained during the previous
week  for doing the same work around track #1).  The supervisors did not
call the Operation Control Center
(OCC) to inform them that they would be working on track  #2 on the day of
the accident, although they had
done it the previous day.  Flaggers were not available as employees
crossed active tracks.  At the time of the
accident, witnesses indicated that before the train struck the victim no
warning horn was sounded as it exited
the portal.  The investigation revealed that during the two day operation
some train operators sounded the
horn and some did not.  The train was traveling at a normal operating
speed under Automatic Train Operation
(ATO) from the OCC (ATO speed can range from 25-40 mph), and not at a
reduced
"restricted speed" of 15
mph.
One feasible and acceptable method, among others, to correct this hazard
is for the employer to assure that
supervisory personnel and employees are retrained on and comply with the
following current WMATA
operation procedures:
Page 28 Section 3.87: Rail vehicle shall sound their horns when entering
and exiting tunnel portals, except
at the portals listed below, where an automatic warning system has been
installed.
1. Potomac Yard
2. Silver Spring
3. Grosvenor
4. West Hyattsville
Page 35 Section 3.146:   "Employees engaged in work that can obstruct the
safe passage of trains must be
provided with flagging protection."
Page 36 Section 3.155:   "The employee in charge of the work group shall
notify
OCC when flagging
protection is established."
Page 85 Section 4.180b: "When it is necessary for employees to walk beyond
the platform end gate where
the walkway is not protected by a hand rail, or to walk or work on the
tracks around moving trains or track
equipment, they shall:
b.   Prior to entering the track area, contact OCC for main line access
and/or the appropriate tower for yardaccess, indicating work area and the
purpose of the work. If required, a request shall be made for OCC or the
Interlocking Operator to make periodic announcements to Train
Operators.(Related to rule 4.180.1)."
Page 197 SOP#19 Section 19.7: "Personnel requiring access rights are
responsible for: advising OCC of
their work areas and after approval by OCC, monitoring the appropriate
radio frequencies during access."
Page 198 SOP# 19 Section 19.10:   "All requests to obtain access rights
for authorized WMATA personnel
must be coordinated with and be approved by OCC prior to entering the
right-of-way.
OCC must be also be
notified when personnel have completed their tasks and are clear of the
right-of-way. All other access rights
must appear on the general order."
Page 198 SOP# 19 Section 19.11:   "All requests to obtain access rights
must be submitted via the General
Orders & Track Rights System(GOTRS), to the Superintendent of OCC by 1700
on the Wednesday preceding
the scheduled week. When a holiday falls on a Thursday, all requests must
be submitted by 1000
Wednesday."
Page 243 SOP#30 Section 30.2:   "The maintenance person in charge of the
work crew must contact OCC
and request that a speed restriction be established. The maintenance
person must identify the work area by
line and location, its limits, the track numbers, the time the speed
restriction should be established and
approximate time for removal.
a. Notify OCC to establish the speed restriction.
b. Establish flagging in accordance with the Handbook of Metrorail
Operating
Rules. page 244 SOP #30
Section 30.5 Upon arrival at the work area, the maintenance person in
charge of the work crew shall:
c. Wait for assurance from OCC that speed restriction is established and
OCC authorizes entry on the tracks
to start work."

Issued

Mar 22, 2006

Abate by

Mar 27, 2006

Penalty

Initial $70,000

General-duty citation text

Title 40.1-51.1(a) Code of Virginia: At this inspection site, 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 electrocution hazards
while working near retaining walls along Washington Metropolitan Area
Transit Authority (WMATA)
train tracks.
On October 1, 2005, an employees in a work crew that was drilling weep
holes into the retaining wall
next to track # 2.  Members of the work crew crossed track #1
approximately 6 times during the work
shift.   The "third rail," which is energized while trains are running,
was not de-energized while the work
crew was crossing the tracks, although it had been shut down the day
before so employees could carry
tools and equipment across the track.
The investigation revealed that supervisors of the work crew did not
obtain written work orders for work
on track #2  but were instead told verbally to complete the work (a work
order was obtained during the
previous week  for doing the same work around track #1). The supervisors
did not call the Operation
Control Center (OCC) to inform them that they would be working on track #2
on the day of the accident,
although they had done it the previous day.
One feasible and acceptable method, among others, to correct this hazard
is for the employer to assure
that supervisory personnel and employees are retrained on and comply with
the following current
WMATA operation procedures:
Section 4.198:  "Metal shovels, scrapers or any conductive object shall
not
be used near the third rail,
unless the third rail is fully protected on all sides with a rubber mat or
booting cover, except as approved
by SAFE."