Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: FALLING

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 hazards of a fall from elevation: At the facility in the Finished Goods Warehouse, employees were climbing to heights of up to approximately 42 feet on the storage rack structures of the Automated Storage and Retrieval System to access upper rack locations and storage/retrieval vehicle components. During climbing, employees were exposed to the hazard of falling to the concrete floor. Among other methods, acceptable and feasible abatement methods to correct this hazard are as follows: 1) Use a telescopic personnel lift to access upper rack locations and system components. 2) Use the ladder provided on the mast of the storage/retrieval vehicle and use a safety harness and lanyard to tie off to the anchor point provided by the system manufacturer whenever work is performed on the mast. 3) Whenever possible, pull the storage/retrieval vehicles into the bay area at the east end of the aisles to perform maintenance work. 4) Enforce the use of the maintenance pendants for straightening misaligned boxes and shuttles. 5) Design and implement the use of a long pole or other pushing device that can be used from the floor, portable ladder, or mobile work platform to clear jams and straighten misaligned boxes. Disclaimers: The employer is not limited to the abatement methods suggested by OSHA. The methods explained are general and may not be effective in all cases. The employer is responsible for selecting and carrying out an appropriate abatement method.