Text For Citation: 03 Item/Group: 002 Hazard: STRUCK BY

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 hazards of being struck by falling drill string pipe, drill collars and other heavy objects due to unintended fouling of the catlines resulting in material being hoisted to swing in an uncontrolled manner due to: a) Unattended operation of the cathead on number 1 drilling rig, located at the Lingle number 2 wellsite in Section 36, Township 2 South, Range 4 East, Jefferson County IL (near Bluford IL). b) Grooves on the driller side cathead which allow wraps of rope to foul one another during hiosting/lowering operations on the number 1 drilling rig, located at the Lingle number 2 wellsite, in Section 36, Township 2 South, Range 4 East, Jefferson County IL (near Bluford IL). Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct these hazards is to: 1) Require the presence of an employee at the drawworks clutch(es) for the cathead(s) while they are in use. 2) Visually inspect the cathead for defects, such as grooves and flat spots before use. If such defects are found, the cathead is to be taken out of service and the defects repaired by refacing and machining before it is allowed to be used. 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 abatement method.