OSHA Inspection: MIDSTATE SITE DEVELOPMENT

Issued

Jun 24, 2008

Abate by

Jan 12, 2009

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 did not furnish
employmnent 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 hazard of being
hit, crushed and/or pinched:
WORK SITE:  The employer did not ensure through establishing  and
implementing a safe and proper
procedure for checking the oil levels of the final drives, during the
maintenance of the CAT 330C, that the
area(s) where the maintenance was in progress was barricaded, shielded
and/or other effective means put in
place to prevent employees coming in close proximity of the area.
On or about 3/12/08, On or about March 12, 2008, employees were in the
process of  lifting, lowering and
maneuvering the  tracks of a Caterpillar 330C excavator with a bucket of
the equipment in order to check the
final drive oil level.  During the maneuver an employee was struck by and
pinched in between the bucket and
tracks of the machine. As a result, the employee sustained severe compound
fractures of the tibia and fibula as
well as several lacerations, soft tissue and muscle damage from the
incident.
AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THE HAZARD IS TO:
1. Conduct a hazard assessment of the work process prior to the task.
2. Establish a safe procedure to align the final drive of the excavator to
the appropriate level.
3. Train employees in the safe procedures
4. Implement engineering controls to restrict employees from the area of
operation.
5. Utilize other effective engineering methods.ing