Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard:

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): 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 were exposed to falls hazards from vehicle carrier trailers. a) New England Automotive Gateway at 22 Phillip A Quinn Memorial Highway Spencer, MA: On or about December 11, 2014, in that employees who load vehicle carrier trailers are exposed to falls from elevated ramps and frame of the trailer while performing maintenance on the equipment, an employee fell from the unguarded, raised vehicle ramps of a 2006 Boydstun vehicle trailer, Kansas license plate 491930, which was measured to be 5.6 feet above the ground below while attempting to loosen a stuck nut on the hydraulic screw actuator (which controls the height of the loaded trailer). Feasible abatement methods include and are not limited to the following: 1) Ensure employees do not climb on to the frame of the equipment and open sided elevated ramps or decks on the vehicle carrier trailer. 2) Ensure employees do not access ramps or runways that are not guarded with factory installed guardrails. 3) Ensure that employees follow the company training manual which requires the driver to utilize ladders and non-skid surfaces on the trailer equipment. 4) Ensure employees utilize portable stair towers when the need to access elevated structures arises during work operations. 5) Ensure employees report any mechanical troubles that cannot be repaired safely. Specific abatement documentation that this violation has been corrected must be provided within 10 days of the abatement in accordance with 29 CFR 1903.19(d)(1).