Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 003 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 the hazard of falling within or from the personnel platform and/or crushed fingers if platform contacted the nearby wall:: (a) St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton Missouri Job Site; On 8/1/94 at 2:20 pm employees were observed being hoisted and lowered on a platform suspended from a hydraulic crane boom, with a load of unknown weight. The platform was not equipped with a standard guardrail, was not fully enclosed from floor to midrail height, did not have a grab rail, and did not have an attached load rating plate. While ultimate responsibility rests with the employer, given his/her superior knowledge of the workplace, one feasible and acceptable method to correct this hazard, among others, is to attach an appropriate rail and rating plate, as referenced in ASME/ANSI B30.5-1989, Section 5-3.2.2, "Safety Standard for Cableways, Cranes, Derricks, Hoists, Hooks, Jacks and Slings - Mobile and Locomotive Cranes". (a) Essential elements include: (1) Provide a standard rail on all sides of the platform. (2) Enclose the area from the platform floor to the mid-rail with an appropriate material such as sheet metal or expanded metal. (3) Install a grab rail inside the rail perimeter. (4) Have a qualified person determine the weight of the empty platform, and the maximum number of persons and weight for which the platform is rated, and attach a plate to the platform which specifies these limits.