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

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 the hazard of being caught between an excavator and other surfaces: (a)At the Kagman Watershed Project, a Komatsu excavator, model number PC 60-6, serial number 34199, was used on soft soil prior to examining the lay of the land and the kind of soil at the work site, determining the dangerous points and the best methods of operation, and making safety arrangements about the dangerous points. One acceptable and feasible means of abatement is, but is not necessarily limited to, prior to use of the excavator, to examine the kind of soil, to determine that the soil is soft, and to arrange to place thick boards on the ground to prevent the excavator from sinking. These abatement methods are delineated in the excavator's Operation and Maintenance Manual's section on Safety and Operation in item 1. on page 2 and in item 21. on page 10.