OSHA Inspection: VALLEY CORPORATION

Issued

Jun 14, 2022

Abate by

Nov 18, 2022

Penalty

Initial $13,052 · Current $8,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1):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 was free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees performing tree felling operations were exposed to struck by hazards.  The employer failed to protect employees from struck-by hazards associated with tree felling operations. This was most recently documented on March 9, 2022, in the Northeast corner of the construction site located at 162nd and Ida St, Omaha Nebraska, where two employees and their supervisor were felling trees without following general safety precautions outlined in relevant industry standards.     Among other methods, feasible and acceptable methods to correct this hazard includes, but are not limited to the following:  i.	Incorporate the Safety Requirements for manual tree removal set forth in ANSI Z133-2017 for Arboricultural Operations.  ii.	Develop and implement work procedures for tree removal following ANSI Z133-2017 for Arboricultural Operations.  iii.	Develop and implement work procedures for designating and visibly marking the drop zone (landing zone) for protecting ground workers from dropped or falling trunks and branches.  iv.	Develop and implement training for personnel on struck-by hazards associated with tree removal and groundwork safety near the drop zone (landing zone).  v.	Develop and implement training for personnel on establishing effective escape paths prior to beginning the tree cut.