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 to each of his employees 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 the hazard of being struck by a crane boom during disassembly. On or about 11/17/2009 three employees were disassembling a Bucyrus-Erie Model 30B Truck Crane with a 80 foot boom. The boom was lowered to approximately 4 feet above the ground with no means of support under the boom sections to prevent it from falling when the retaining pins were removed. This exposed the employees to the hazard of being struck by the falling sections of the crane boom. Among other methods, a feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard would be to block the sections of the boom to prevent it from falling as specified by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B30.5 - 1968. Additionally employees should not be allowed to position themselves under the boom when removing the retaining pins. DISCLAIMERS: 1) You are not limited to the abatement methods suggested above. 2) The methods explained are general and may not be effective in all cases. 3) The employer is responsible for selecting and carrying out an appropriate method.