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 were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees, in that an employee was exposed to the hazard of being struck by a falling section of tree which was cut by that employee from a raised aerial lift tree : a)79 Flaggler Rd., Leominster, MA: On April 7, 2016, an employee drop cutting a 37 foot section off the top of a tree was exposed to being struck or crushed by a tree as it fell, due to the lack of a comprehensive work plan to safely fell a tall tree. Feasible abatement methods include and are not limited to the following: Comply with ANSI Z133 2012 Safety Requirements for Arboricultural Operations: 1. Ensure to provide instruction that entails specific step-by-step procedures, such as blocking down sections of the tree when necessary, and require that each employee follow appropriate working practices as outlined in section 3.1. 2. Ensure that a qualified arborist conducts an onsite job briefing and visual hazard assessment with employees before the start of each job as required by subsection 3.14. 3. Ensure other appropriate devices such as a crane is used to control the direction of fall where there is a danger that the tree pieces or tree being removed may fall in the wrong/unintended direction. 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).