Text For Citation: 02 Item/Group: 001 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 the hazard of being crushed by a falling load, should the improper chain sling being used fail, while the exployee is exposed to the suspended load: a) On 8/16/91 a fabricated chain sling was uised in lifting a fork- lift vehicle so that repairs could be made to the hydraulic lines on the underside of the veahicle. The components of the sling, per sales literature, are not for overhead lifting. In addition the 3/8 inch chain links had been worn to only 3/16 inch thick, thus greatly increasing the possibility of chain failure under load. One feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard is to use a properly rated forklift jack to do the lifting, or another method is to use an alloy steel chain sling that meets the requirments of 29 CFR 1910.184 and then to secure the load as required by 29 CFR 1910.244(a)(2)(iii).