Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 002 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 multiple broken bones and/or death from a serious fall while being elevated on platforms on the forks of the Mitsubishi fork truck. Work platforms used on forklift trucks to elevate personnel did not meet the design, construction and use requirements of the American National Standards/Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation (ANSI/ITSDF) Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks, ANSI/ITSDF B56.1-2005; Section 4.17.3: Whenever a truck is equipped with a work platform, the following additional precautions shall be taken for the protection of personnel: (a) Provide a platform that complies with the requirements in paragraph 7.37.3., and (b) The platform attachment means are applied and the platform is securely attached to the lifting carriage or forks. a) On or about 02/05/2008, employees were lifted up on the Big Joe platform mounted on the forks of the Mitsubishi forklift, approximately 17-feet high, in order to access the steel awning above the garden center entrance to remove snow and ice. The platform did not meet the requirements of paragraph 7.37.3 in that the platform did not have the means to correctly locate the platform centered laterally on the truck, (as required by paragraph (c)), had floor dimensions that exceeded two times the load center distance measured parallel to the longitudinal center plane of the truck (as prohibited in paragraph (e)), and did not have the maximum load, weight of empty platform, or minimum capacity of truck on which the platform was used (as required by paragraphs (i)(1) - (i)(3)) prominently indicated on the platform. b) On or about 02/06/2008, employees were lifted up with a steel parts cage as a platform mounted on the forks of the Mitsubishi forklift, approximately 17-feet high, in order to access the steel awning above the garden center entrance to remove snow and ice. The platform did not meet the requirements of paragraph 7.37.3 in that the platform did not have the maximum load, weight of empty platform, or minimum capacity of truck on which the platform was used (as required by paragraphs (i)(1) - (i)(3)) prominently indicated on the platform, nor was the platform securely attached to the lifting carriage. c) On or about 02/07/2008, employees were lifted up with a steel parts cage as a platform mounted on the forks of the Mitsubishi forklift, approximately 17-feet high, in order to access the steel awning above the garden center entrance to remove snow and ice. The platform did not meet the requirements of paragraph 7.37.3 in that the platform did not have the maximum load, weight of empty platform, or minimum capacity of truck on which the platform was used (as required by paragraphs (i)(1) - (i)(3)) prominently indicated on the platform, nor was the platform securely attached to the lifting carriage. d) On or about 02/11/2008, employees were lifted up with a steel parts cage as a platform mounted on the forks of the Mitsubishi forklift, approximately 17-feet high, in order to access the steel awning above the garden center entrance to remove snow and ice. The platform did not meet the requirements of paragraph 7.37.3 in that the platform did not have the maximum load, weight of empty platform, or minimum capacity of truck on which the platformwas used (as required by paragraphs (i)(1) - (i)(3)) prominently indicated on the platform, nor was the platform securely attached to the lifting carriage. e) On or about 02/12/2008, employees were lifted up on the Big Joe platform mounted on the forks of the Mitsubishi fork lift, approximately 17-feet high, in order to access the steel awning above the garden center entrance to remove snow and ice. The platform did not meet the requirements of paragraph 7.37.3 in that the platform did not have the means to correctly locate the platform centered laterally on the truck, (as required by paragraph (c)), had floor dimensions that exceeded two times the load center distance measured parallel to the longitudinal center plane of the truck (as prohibited in paragraph (e)), and did not have the maximum load, weight of empty platform, or minimum capacity of truck on which the platform was used (as required by paragraphs (i)(1) - (i)(3)) prominently indicated on the platform. f) On or about 02/11/2008, employees were lifted up with a steel parts cage as a platform mounted on the forks of the Mitsubishi forklift, approximately 17-feet high, in order to access the steel awning above the garden center entrance to remove snow and ice. The platform did not meet the requirements of paragraph 7.37.3 in that the platform did not have the maximum load, weight of empty platform, or minimum capacity of truck on which the platform was used (as required by paragraphs (i)(1) - (i)(3)) prominently indicated on the platform, nor was the platform securely attached to the lifting carriage. Among other methods, feasible and acceptable means to correct this hazard would be to: follow the guidelines listed in ITSDF B56.1-2005, use a device that has been designed to lift personnel with an approved work platform or use a ladder placed securely for employees to access the awning or roof, and ensure that the Mitsubishi Fork Lift Truck is used only to retrieve and lower materials. Abatement Certification and Documentation is required.