Text For Citation: 02 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: GUARDING

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer does 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 the employer fails to implement a preventive maintenance program; fails to conduct required inspections of its six overhead cranes; and fails to make necessary repairs, resulting in the operation of the cranes with defective or missing parts affecting the safe operation of the cranes and likely to result in serious injury or death to employees in the event of crane malfunction or failure: (a) Facility, Fab and Paint Shop: On or about March 10, 2004 and continuing, a program of preventive maintenance has not been implemented and required crane inspections, including testing of the hoist limit switches, have not been conducted for the six top running bridge, single girder, underhung trolley with one hoist, push button operated cranes, resulting in the operation of cranes with serious defects, including: (b) FAB SHOP, #2 Pittsburgh Top Running Bridge, Single Girder, Underhung Hoist Overhead Crane (crane serial #5409K, hoist serial #143628) had the following deficiencies: (1) The south side of the crane bridge was not marked as to its capacity. (2) The bridge #1 and #2 brake linings were broken in half. (3) The trolley festoon is spliced together. (4) The east bridge drive wheel and shaft have excessive movement. (5) The drive and idler wheels show excessive flange wear on both sides. (6) There is no strain relief for the push button station and the push button housing is broken. (7) The trolley gears are worn. The trolley pinion shaft is worn. The trolley chain is worn. (8) The trolley chain guard is missing. (9) The bottom block and the upper block sheaves are damaged due to two blocking. (10) The equalizer sheave has excessive movement. (11) The lands on the rope drum are worn to sharp points. (12) There is excessive play in the hoist coupling and gear case. The oil in the gear case is very dirty and the oil seals are leaking. (c) FAB SHOP, #3 Pittsburgh Top Running Bridge, Single Girder, Underhung Hoist Crane (crane serial #5409k, hoist serial #143626) had the following deficiencies: (1) The hoist holding brake drifts excessively. (2) The push button housing is cracked and there is no strain relief for the push button station. (3) All bridge wheels have excessive flange wear. In addition, the bridge drive wheels and shafts have moved through the gear case. (4) The trolley drive sprockets are badly worn. The trolley drive pinion and shaft are badly worn and the trolley drive chain is badly worn. (5) The equalizer has excessive play. (6) The hoist cable has numerous broken wires and requires replacement. (7) There are leaking seals on the hoist gear case. In addition, the oil in the gear case is very dirty and needs drained, flushed and filled with new oil. (d) FAB SHOP, #1 Pittsburgh Top Running Bridge, Single Girder, Underhung Hoist Crane (crane serial #5409k, hoist serial #143625) had the following deficiencies: (1) The strain relief chain is not connected to the push button station. The grommet on the push button housing and cable is broken and several rubber boots are missing. (2) The inner and outer retaining rings on the west side bridge drive wheels are broken. Also, the bridge drive wheels show excessive flange wear. (3) There is no bridge bumper on the southeast end. Also there are no safety chains on the other bridge bumpers. (4) The trolley gear case is leaking oil into the control panel. (5) The trolley drive sprockets show excessive movement in the keyways. The trolley drive chain is very loose. (6) The trolley chain guard is missing. (7) The hoist cable is damaged near the equalizer and requires replacement. (8) The oil level in the hoist gear case is low. (e) FAB SHOP, #4 Pittsburgh Top Running Bridge, Single Girder, Underhung Hoist Crane (crane serial #5409k, hoist serial #143623) had the following deficiencies: (1) The bridge brakes are over torqued beyond the manufacturer's recommendations.(2) The strain relief is not attached to the push button housing. In addition, the push button housing is damaged. (3) The retaining ring on the inside of the east bridge drive gear is loose. (4) The oil level in the west bridge gear case is low, due to a leak. (5) The trolley gear case is leaking oil into the control panel. (6) The trolley drive is completely worn and requires replacement. (7) The trolley drive chain guard is missing. (8) The upper sheaves are chipped and cracked from two blocking. (9) The equalizer sheave has excessive movement. (10) There are numerous broken strands and flat spots on the hoist cable which require replacement. (f) Paint Shop, #1 Pittsburgh Top Running Bridge, Single Girder, Underhung Hoist Crane (crane serial #5409k, hoist serial #143624) had the following deficiencies: (1) The push button station is cracked and several rubber boots are broken. Also, the strain relief chain is not connected and the function labels are covered with paint. (2) The keyway in the gear is excessively worn on the west bridge drive wheel. The inside retaining ring is broken. The wheel shaft has moved and the wheel flange is worn. The outside collar and set screw are loose on the east side. (3) The trolley gear case is leaking oil into the control panel. (4) The trolley drive chain is very loose. (5) The equalizer sheave has excessive play in it. (6) The hoist cable has numerous broken wires which requires replacement. (7) There is an excessive amount of play in the hoist gear box. Oil is leaking from the hoist gear box. (g) PAINT SHOP, #2 Pittsburgh Top Running Bridge, Single Girder, Underhung Hoist Crane (crane serial #5409k, hoist serial #143627) had the following deficiencies:.(1) The housing on the push button station is cracked and there are torn boots on the push buttons. The rubber grommet on the push button cable to the push button station is broken. Also, the strain relief is not attached to the push button station and the function labels have been painted over. (2) The trolley stop bolts are loose on the east side. (3) The trolley gear case seal is bad. (4) The trolley drive chain is very loose. (5) The spring to the safety latch on the hook is broken. (6) The hook thrust bearing is stiff due to paint buildup. In addition, the hook has not been tested for over a year due to paint buildup. (7) The equalizer sheave has excessive play. (8) The hoist cable has numerous broken wires which require replacement. (9) The trolley drive chain guard is missing. These defects affected the safe operation of the cranes and were likely to cause serious death or injury to the employees in the vicinity in the event of crane malfunction or failure. To abate these violations, the employer must ensure that a preventive maintenance program, based upon the crane manufacturer's recommendations, is established, determined by the type of service, ("Normal, Heavy, Severe"), the cranes are subjected to and the degree of exposure to wear, deterioration or malfunction of the critical components. All crane deficiencies must be repaired and/or replaced promptly to provide safe operation of all cranes. The preventive maintenance program must include frequent and periodic inspections. Pursuant to 1903.19(c) and (d), the employer must provide documentation that this violation has been abated within 10 calendar days of the abatement date indicated on the citation.