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

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 following conditions: (a)On or about December 7, 2001, Williams Brothers Construction, Inc., at a job site located on the South side of Beltway 8, between the Beltway and the feeder road, West of the Hardy/Beltway 8 intersection, Houston, TX, 77060, Backhoe Model 426 was observed in operation, excavating materials from an excavation, while suspended in the air by its Roll Over Protective Structure (ROPS) rather than the manufacturers supplied lifting points. Employees were exposed to potential hazards such as but not limited to: 1.Struck by the backhoe due to the improper usage of the Roll Over Protective Structure (ROPS) of the backhoe. 2.Caught by excavation cave-ins if the dynamic load of a backhoe struck the bank of the excavation causing collapse. 3.Struck by collapsing crane due to overloading from the shifting weight and position of the suspended backhoe and its potential entanglement on the rebar. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement is to use a large backhoe, one that can reach the bottom of the excavation from its position on the feeder road in order to excavate materials.