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. Employees were exposed to a fall hazard while working from the derrick of a rotary drilling rig without fall protection. On August 10, 2002, at a worksite located 2.5 miles south of Rhome, TX, an employee was fatally injured when working from the derrick of Cheyenne Rig No. 6 while attempting to retrieve a stand of pipe that had slipped across the derrick away from the derrickhand's working platform. The worker fell approximately 86 feet onto the rig floor. Among other methods, some feasible and acceptable methods to correct this hazard are: 1.Follow the recommended practices listed in the American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practice (RP) 54, 3rd Edition, August 1999. RP 54 is the "Recommended Practice for Occupational Safety for Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing Operations." Section 5.5 of RP 54 addresses fall protection. 2.Utilize fall protection while working/maneuvering around the derrick. Forms of fall protection that may be utilized include, but are not limited to: a)A personal fall arrest system utilizing a self-retracting lifeline (SRL) connected to the back D-ring of a full body harness with a shock absorbing lanyard meeting and/or exceeding the requirements of ANSI Z359.1; b)A full body harness equipped with a shock absorbing lanyard that is equipped with a double leg lanyard with two distinct self-locking snap hooks that would permit the worker to move around the derrick while remaining tied off at all times.