OSHA Inspection: TRI STATE BUILDING SVCS. LLC DBA SUNSET BLD. SVCS.

Issued

Jun 17, 2009

Abate by

Jun 23, 2009

Penalty

Initial $4,200

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 in that
employees were exposed
to fall hazards:
Jobsite at Sovereign Bank Building, 1350 Main Street, Springfield, MA:
On or about 6/11/09
employees were exposed to fall hazards while using rope descent systems to
wash the exterior
windows of the seventeen (17) story building.
1.Primary working lines and safety lines were tied to the same guardrail
structure on the
roof.  The tie off points had unknown strength.
2.Three white primary working lines and one yellow safety line had
excessive wear.  The
lines were not marked with their identity or manufacture date.
Two rack descent devices had excessive wear in grooves of the break bars
where
ropes ran
around them.  One rack descent device had a hole in one of the break bars
where the rope wore
through it.
Webbing for one seatboard had the horizontal support straps cut off.  The
plywood for one
seatboard had excessive deterioration where the wood plies in the plywood
had delaminated.
A plastic bucket used by one employee to hold cleaning solution and his
tools had cracks in the
plastic around the handle.
3.Employees using rope descent systems were using Mio Corp. Model RG-716
rope grabs
that do not have an anti panic stop feature
AMONG OTHER METHODS THE FOLLOWING ARE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE
MEANS OF ABATING THE HAZARD:
1.Develop and implement a plan of service specifically for the 1350 Main
Street Sovereign
Bank Building in accordance with section 1.7 of American National
Standards Institute standard
ANSI/IWCA Z359.1, "Window Cleaning Safety".  Identify in the work plan
each anchorage that
will be used as a tie off for both primary working lines and for safety
lines.  Have a registered
professional engineer or qualified individual certify that each anchorage
is capable of sustaining
a 5000 pound minimum load.
Ensure that anchorages used for personal fall arrest systems (safety
lines) are independent of
anchorages used for the suspension system (primary working lines)
Ensure that personal fall arrest systems (safety lines) are not attached
to guardrail systems.
2.Inspect all components of rope descent systems and all safety devices
prior to assembling
and using them.  Immediately remove from service any components that have
defects.
Continuously monitor the condition of all components of rope descent
systems during use.Remove from service all ropes with excessive wear.
Mark
or tag all ropes with date of
manufacture and date placed in service.  Track the use of primary working
lines to ensure that
they are not used longer than two (2) years from date first placed in
service or three (3) years
from date of manufacture.
Remove from service rope descent racks with excessive wear.  Conduct
regular detailed
inspections all components of rope descent systems subject to constant
friction including rope
descent racks.
Remove from service defective seatboards.
Remove from service the defective bucket.  Securely attach all buckets to
the seaboards in such
a manner that the buckets cannot fall.
3.Use rope grabs that have an anti panic stop feature.
SPECIFIC ABATEMENT DOCUMENTATION IS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH
THE REQUIREMENTS OF 29 CFR 1903.19 (D)3.19