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 a place of employment which was free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm in that employees were exposed to crushing hazards while attempting to manually raise a balloon-framed wall that was not adequately secured to the deck. Illinois Framing Inc. Employees were not protected from crushing hazards during the manual hoisting a framed balloon wall. Feasible abatement would include the following as described in a Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB), Hazards of Manually Lifting Balloon Framed Walls established by the United States Department of Labor: The SHIB specifically states: 1.Pre-plan the job. 2.Determine the weight of the walls. 3.Conduct "pre-lift" meetings to discuss the safest methods for raising these walls. 4.Use a competent person to consider and supervise all aspects of the lifting operation. 5.Use cranes with appropriate and approved attachment to assist in raising and placing balloon framed walls. 6.Use either forklifts of adequate size and capacity for lifting balloon framed walls or rough terrain forklifts with appropriate and approved attachments in placing balloon framed walls. 7.Prior to the lifting of the wall, establish a limited access zone whenever a balloon framed wall is being raised. 8.Secure bottom plates with adequate sized metal bands located at each end of the wall and spaced not more than 6 feet apart or other adequate feasible means of securing the bottom plate. 9Use either manual or mechanical/electrical wall jacks to assist with the lifting and placing balloon framed walls. 10.If the manual lifting methods are chosen and a determination is made that a method exists to safely lift these walls, assure that a sufficient number of workers are continually assisting while each wall is being raised to prevent the wall from falling back onto them and to prevent overexertion by workers lifting each wall. 11.Require employees to use the proper procedures for engaging load handling attachments onto forklifts or cranes. Make these safe lifting procedures part of the company's safety and health program. Abatement documentation is required for this item in accordance with the requirements of 29 CFR 1903.19(d)ts