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

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 hazard of falling to the ground by not having a lifeline anchored independently from the roller/suspension equipment to a safe point on the roof: On or about July 20, 2000, at 2316 E Meyer Blvd., Kansas City, MO, on the West side of the Research Hospital main structure, two employees were suspended down the vertical face of the building using controlled descent devices while washing windows, and using a lifeline that was solely attached to the roller, subsequently causing the two employees to fall to the ground when the rollers fell to the ground causing serious and life threatening injuries to the two employees. While ultimate responsibility for correcting the hazard rests with the employer, given his/her superior knowledge of the workplace, feasible and acceptable methods to correct this hazard include: 1) Each employee use a rope that has a sole purpose of being a lifeline. 2) Anchor the rope used as a lifeline to a safe point on the roof independent from the roller/suspension equipment and descent line. Abatement certification is required for this violation (using the CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTIVE ACTION WORKSHEET), and in addition, documentation demonstrating that abatement is complete must be included with your certification. This documentation may include, but is not limited to, evidence of the purchase or repair of the equipment, photographic or video evidence of abatement, or other written records.