OSHA Inspection: ADVANCED SCAFFOLD SERVICES NORTH ATLANTIC, LLC

Issued

May 24, 2024

Abate by

Jun 4, 2024

Penalty

Initial $6,452 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1):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  LOCATION: the worksite at 75 Federal St. On or about January 6th, 2024   Advanced Scaffold Services North Atlantic is the subject of this investigaation. The incident that prompted OSHA's response was the injury and hospitalization of Bruce Alvarez when his son and co-worker Az Alvarez was unable to prevent a mast section striking Bruce while they were disassembling a mast climber that Advanced Scaffold Services had rented to Patriot Restoration in order to work on the crenelations of the building at 75 Federal St. in Boston, MA.   OSHA does not have a standard under 29 CFR 1926 that covers this activity, however in conversations with the employees on site and with an industry expert there are easily applied Substitution and Engineering safety changes that would have eliminated this injury and the hazard that created it. The User Manual for the Dunlop 12,000 Mastclimber Owner and OPerators manual states nothing directly about safety concerns or hazards caused by the installation or removal of these mast sections. It does, however, reference ANSI/SIA A92.9-1993. The "Responsibilities Manual" lays out the necessity to "determine hazardous locations" and also to "determine the presence of unsafe conditions" as well as the obligation of the Competent and Qualified persons involved in the operation and assembly of these mastclimbers to communicate those recognized hazards to anyone else involved in its operation. Furthermore, it lays out the responsibility of the Dealer to apply  "Basic Principles" or "sound principles of safety...erection, maintenance... consistent with all data available regarding the parameters of intended use and expected enviornment shall be applied in... erection and operation of the Mast Climbing Work Platform." OSHA bellieves this was written into this manual to give anyone working on mastclimbers the ability to lable and abate a recognized hazard. Workers have been working under these conditions since 1984 when Dunlop introduced these to the american workforce.   The hazard that employees are exposed to in this violation are struck-by and crush hazards when the Hydrolic arm that is in place to hoist the mast sections into place is used, as designed, without any limiter or break to slow or stop the descent of the mast being held by the swing arm while it is being lowered into position atop the structure to extend the mast. This hazard is recognized by all of the workers in the industry that OSHA discussed this with and also by the employees interviewed on site who explained to OSHA that this is, and has been, a consistent hazard whenever thes mast climbers are assembled or disassembled.  The lack of any kind of descent control on this hydrolic swing-arm caused facial lacerations, broken bones, and various contusions when the hydrolic pressure holding the mast section aloft by the swing arm was released without any limiter or control and struck Mr. Alvarez in the face and leg. Mr. Bruce Alvarez was taken to the hospital to tend to his injuries.