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 a place of employment which was free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to struck by hazards: (a)Lariat Services, Inc. at Rig 15, SW SE Section 12, T11N, R88W, Clark, CO 80428: On or before 8/25/06, the employer did not ensure that the hook load weight did not exceed the capacity of the rotary drilling line (wire rope) when tripping out of the hole. Although the employer provided a Pason system with alarms, the alarms had been disabled. In addition, there was no clear training and instruction for drillers regarding the hook load limitations of the rotary drilling line. Finally, the ton-mile calculations did not include infrequent events causing additional wear on the wire rope, such as stuck pipe, drag, and jarring, and the training for these ton-mile calculations was inadequate. Condition exposed employees to struck by hazards when the wire rope parted. Abatement Note: Abatement certification and documentation are required for this item (See enclosed "Sample Abatement-Certification Letter"). Among other methods, some feasible and acceptable abatement methods are stated in the following references: 1)The employer shall train employees on the wire rope manufacturer's directions for use, and on the limitations of the specific wire rope in use. On page 12, Table 4 of these directions, the manufacturer noted that the minimum breaking force of 1 1/8 inch, 6 x 19 classification, bright (uncoated) independent wire rope core was 130,000 pounds. The manufacturer provided a chart of design factors for 130,000 pound nominal strength wire rope, and stated "If heavier loads are used so that the design factor drops below 3.0, the ton mile service falls off sharply. Below a design factor of 2.0, wire rope is permanently and irreversibly damaged." 2)The wire rope manufacturer provided supplemental charts on how to calculate ton miles associated with stuck pipe, setting casing, drag, and jarring. 3)API Recommended Practice 9B, Eleventh Edition, August 2002, Sections 3.3, 5.3, and 6.0 provide direction on the evaluation of the rotary drilling line, including criteria regarding the design factors, pulling on stuck pipe, and similar infrequent operations.