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

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 service rig(s) load line and traveling block that were not maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications and/or industry standards: a) Jefferson County, Warsaw Township, Sprague Wingard 10 well - On or about December 22, 2008, and at times prior thereto --- Employees were exposed to struck-by, crushing, and blunt force trauma hazards from the Walker-Neer Service Rig #4 that was operating with a Bridon American Constructex 6x40 7/8" load line that was beyond serviceable limits according to manufacturer specifications and industry standards as evidenced by improper lubrication, lack of daily visual inspection, and omission of a ton- mile calculation. Specifically, these conditions included: 1. Field lubrication of the load line consisted of used motor oil. This type of improper wire rope lubrication contained no corrosion prohibitor and diminished the load line service life. 2. Daily visual inspections were not completed to identify broken strands or rope defects. 3. A Slipping and Cut-Off preventative maintenance program was not established. Service life calculations from Ton-Mile limits were not performed. ABATEMENT NOTE: Among others, one feasible and useful abatement method to correct this hazard is to: (1) Follow the field lubrication requirements of the Constructex wire rope manufacturer Bridon American and American Petroleum Institute (API) RP9B Recommended Practice on Application, Care, and Use of Wire Rope for Oilfield Services Paragraph 3.3.8 which states "Lubricate the rope with a good grade of lubricant which will penetrate and adhere to the rope." (2) Reference the wire rope inspection criteria from Bridon American and American Petroleum Institute (API) RP54 Recommended Practice for Occupational Safety for Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing Operations Paragraph 9.6.1 which states "All hoist lines be visually inspected once a day." (3) Reference the cut off and rope maintenance program from Bridon American and American Petroleum Institute (API) RP9B Recommended Practice on Application, Care, and Use of Wire Rope for Oilfield Services Section 6 Slipping and Cutoff Practice Abatement Documentation is required for this violation.ion