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

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) the hazard of being struck by a falling kelly bushing. On January 27, 1995, an employee, the motorman, was killed when a kelly bushing fell onto his head, because 1) the motorman positioned his head below a suspended load, i.e. the kelly bushing; 2) the "friction catline" rope, which suspended the kelly bushing, was "dogged-off" into a rope locking device commonly referred to as a "rope roller bracket assembly" or "rope roller"; and then 3) the "catline" rope was left unattended by another employee, the derrickman, just prior to kelly bushing falling and crushing the skull of the motorman. The feasible and acceptable abatement methods to correct this hazard would include the following: 1) Instruct and warn all applicable employees and post warning signs or stickers which state that no loads are to be suspended using the "friction catline" rope locking device commonly referred to as a "rope roller bracket assembly" or "rope roller"; 2) Instruct and warn all applicable employees and post warning signs or stickers which state that "catline" suspended loads are never to be left unattended; 3) Implement formal written work practice procedures, which would include at a minimum appropriate safe procedures to follow when working with and round "catheads", "catlines", "rope rollers", and suspended loads on the "catline"; 4) Conduct employee training on these written work practice procedures; and 5) Implement procedures to verify employee training.