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 the hazards of falling down the hoistway shaft when the elevator car was not in the landing zone, being struck by the elevator car when the car was entering or leaving the landing zone or having part of their body caught between the moving elevator and the hoistway. A feasible and useful method to correct this hazard, among other methods, is to provide elevator hoistway or landing doors or gates that are electrically interlocked to prevent the elevator car from moving when the landing doors or gates are in the open position and so latched that the landing doors or gates cannot be opened from the landing side unless the elevator car is within the landing zone: Basement level: On June 4, 2001, the electrically interlocked door on the freight elevator failed and an employee opened the doors and fell into the elevator pit.