OSHA Inspection: TRINIDAD DRILLING LP

Issued

Mar 7, 2008

Abate by

Mar 26, 2008

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $3,500 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 the condition(s) listed below:
a) On November 26, 2007, and a period of time prior to this date,
employees of Cheyenne
Drilling, a subsidiary of Trinidad Drilling LP, were working at a drilling
site in Wheeler
County, Texas, described as Hefley 13-37 and located approximately 14
miles north of Wheeler,
Texas on US 83 and 4 miles east on County Road EE. They were unpinning and
extending (or
"scoping out") a telescoping mast for a Quicksilver Drilling System land
drilling rig. Although
the directions for performing this operation clearly state that the crown
section is to be taken
loose and pulled out first, locked to the top of the center section, and
then the center section is
to be pulled out, these directions were not followed.
The toolpusher in charge of this rigging up operation ordered that the
center section of the mast
be pulled out first, and then the crown section. After the crews secured
the base of the center
section to the lower section, the retaining pins holding the crown section
in place were knocked
out by employees who climbed into the mast and hammered on them with
sledgehammers. When
the last pin was dislodged, the center section of the mast fell on the
employee who was
underneath it, pinning him between the mast and the fifth wheel carrier to
which the crown
section was secured.
If the manufacturer's directions had been followed, the center section
would have remained
secured to the lower section, in a stable configuration, when the crown
section was unpinned and
would not have fallen on the employees taking it loose. By deviating from
the procedures in this
manner, the toolpusher exposed employees to the hazards of being caught
between
this mast and
the trailer that carried it and crushed, with potential injuries including
but not limited to damage
to internal organs, broken bones, paralysis, and death.
A feasible means of abatement for future operations is to review and
follow the manufacturer's
directions for extending and raising a drillng mast, thus ensuring that
the weight of such an
object is not permitted to fall on employees who are working underneath
it.