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

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 to employees in that employees were exposed to: (a) On the 28th of December, 1999, an employee installing wallboard (drywall) material to the metal drop ceiling grid within a newly constructed indoor swimming pool room, was exposed to the potential of being struck by material weighing up to 1680# due to structural failure,as a result of inadequate bracing and supports to assure structural integrity under appropriate load conditions including the installation of 14 individual sheets of wallboard material with individual weight of approximately 120 lbs/per-sheet. Supports and bracing did not meet the recognized AISI Specifications for the Design Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members, allowable stress design, hereafter referred to as AISI CDSD-ASD or the AISI Load and Resistance Factor Design Specification for Cold- Formed Steel Structural Members hereafter referred to as AISI CFSD-LRFD, listed in Chapter 35, in that Number 8 form wire was used as a main support method which was not designed or intended for support of the imposed load applied on it. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable method to abate this hazard is the utilization of engineering design criteria to determine appropriate construction methods and the installation of supports and bracing adequate to support the imposed load.