OSHA Inspection: SUPERIOR ENVIRONMENTAL LABOR, INC.

Issued

2013-06-06 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-06-14 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $4900.00 · Current $1000.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.132(a): Protective equipment was not used when necessary whenever hazards capable of causing injury and impairment were encountered.    a. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the North Well there was a pic system with unprotected sides or edges utilized by employees accessing and performing vacuuming associated operations without personal protective fall arrest / fall restraint equipment systems or equivalent exposing employees to fall potentials in excess of 10'.

Issued

2013-06-06 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-07-19 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $3500.00 · Current $1750.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(d)(3)(v): Under the permit-required confined space program required by 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4), the employer did not develop and implement the means, procedures, and practices necessary for safe permit entry operations, including, providing pedestrian, vehicle, or other barriers as necessary to protect entrants from external hazards;    a. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the North Well employees performed associated vacuuming operations adjacent to one of the lower bells without the employer developing and implementing procedures or practices for safe entry operations in that barriers or equivalent protection was not provided to protect entrants from struck by external hazards associated with vacuum pipe sections being lowered from approximately 50' above through an approximate 4'x 6' opening during which control of the attached lowering rope could be lost allowing the pipe sections to fall striking employee(s) involved in vacuum operations below.

Issued

2013-06-06 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-06-14 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.184(c)(9): Employee(s) were not kept clear of load(s) suspended, or about to be lifted by sling(s):  a. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the North Well employees performed associated vacuuming operations adjacent to one of the lower bells without the employer developing and implementing procedures or practices to assure that employees were kept clear of loads to be lifted, suspended and lowered into a well and so exposed employees working in the well to being struck by vacuum pipe sections being lowered with a rope sling associated devices from approximately 50' above through an approximate 4'x 6' opening.

Issued

2013-06-06 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-07-19 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $3500.00 · Current $1750.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(d)(8): Under the permit-required confined space program required by 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4), the employer did not designate the persons who were to have active roles in entry operations, identify the duties of each such employee, and provide each employee with training required by paragraph (g) of this section:    a. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the confined space areas of the North Well employees performed vacuuming associated operations as persons with active roles in rescue or permit space atmospheric air testing or monitoring in the entry operations who were not identified with those duties or trained and knowledgeable of their duties.      b. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the confined space areas of the North Well employees performed vacuuming associated operations with active rescue roles as persons in the entry operations without the employer implementing procedures for summoning rescue, for rescuing entrants from permit spaces and preventing unauthorized personnel from attempting rescue.

Issued

2013-06-06 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-07-19 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $3500.00 · Current $1750.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(j)(2): The employer did not ensure that each entry supervisor verified, by checking that the appropriate entries had been made on the permit, that all tests specified by the permit had been conducted and that all procedures and equipment specified by the permit were in place before endorsing the permit and allowing entry to begin:    a. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the confined space areas of the North Well employees performed vacuuming associated operations without verification by the entry supervisor that all atmospheric tests were being conducted and all testing devices specified by the permit were in place as well as procedures and equipment specified by the permit for rescue, protection from falling objects, fall protection / restraint systems and retrieval rescue harness systems, identifying group lockout box locking device personal identifiers are in place before endorsing the permit and allowing entry to begin.      b. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the confined space areas of the North Well employees performed vacuuming associated operations and the entry supervisor did not verify that rescue services were available and in place before endorsing the permit and allowing entry to begin.

Issued

2013-06-06 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-06-14 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $3500.00 · Current $1750.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(k)(1)(ii): The employer did not ensure that each member of the rescue service was trained to perform the assigned rescue duties:    a. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the confined space areas of the North Well employees performed vacuuming associated operations without verification that the rescue service had the ability and were trained so as to be proficient with rescue-related tasks while rescuing from the North Well permit space and was in place or a position of readiness before allowing entry to begin.      b. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the confined space areas of the North Well employees performed vacuuming associated operations were designated to provide permit space rescue without ensuring affected employees practiced permit space rescue from the actual permit space or a representative permit space and were in place before allowing entry to begin.

Issued

2013-06-06 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-06-14 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $3500.00 · Current $500.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(5)(ii)(D): Lockout devices and tagout devices did not indicate the identity of the employee applying the device(s):    a. On and before January 24, 2013 and located in the permit required confined space area of the North Well employees performed vacuuming associated operations utilized a group lockout system during which areas such as a influent gate, bar racks, valves, cone valves and flushing valves but had only a single energy isolating lock installed by one company representative at each isolation point to minimize employees potential exposures engulfment hazards. The controlling keys were located within a personal group lockbox on which the group affixed lockout devices (locks) which did not identify the identity of the employees applying the device(s).