OSHA Inspection: AMERICAN PAINTING CO INC

Issued

1985-12-06 00:00:00

Abate by

1985-12-12 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $8000.00 · Current $100.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

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 falls and death when they worked on horizontal cable
supported stages, or picks, which were supported by 2 hangers which
were made of 9/16" diameter steel rods bent to form a "U" frame to
support the stages and with 2 hooks formed into the ends of each
hanger.
The hooks were placed over and slid along tightly stretched
horizontal 7/16" diameter wire rope cables.  None of the formed
hooks were closed or moused to prevent accidental dislodgement of
the suspension frames from the support cables nor were all of the
hanger frames from the support cables nor were all of the hanger
frames fastened to the stages to prevent dislodgement from the
stages.  Falls of approximately 20 feet to the hard ground, pavement
or railroad tracks could result.
The hazard could be abated by securing the ends of all suspension frames
to the stages using an approved method to assure the stability of
attachment between the cable, frames and stages.

Issued

1985-12-06 00:00:00

Abate by

1985-12-09 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $8000.00 · Current $50.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

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 likley to cause death
or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to:
Death or serious injuries from falls of approximately 20 feet to the
ground, pavement, or railroad tracks while working on scaffold picks
supported by improperly rigged, horizontal wire ropes. Rigging
deficiencies included the following:
a) Wire ropes were tightly stretched to an unknown tension, and the
employer had not determined that a safety factor of 6 to 1 was
established for the support systems;
b) Eyes formed at the ends by wire rope clips were not protected against
crushing and abrasion where they bone against 90 degree corners of
structural supports to which they were attached;
c) Some wire rope clips were applied incorrectly so that u-bolt crushed
the live part of the rope;
d) Lengths of rope were joined by knots.
The hazard could be abated through a program including but not
necessarily limited to, the following:
a) Conduct a structural analysis of the job, utilizing the services of
professional engineer, to determine the working loads and the
capacity of the suspension system.
b) Erect the scaffold suspension system in accordance with the
engineering analysis so that the safety factor of 6 to 1 is not
diminished.
c) Erect and maintain the scaffold suspension system using accepted
rigging techniques such as those described in Handbook of Rigging for
construction and Industrial Operations, W.E. Rossnagel, P.E., or
other recognized rigging manuals.
d) Inspect the scaffold suspension system during erection, before use,
and periodically during use to ensure that the original safety is not
diminished.

Issued

1985-12-06 00:00:00

Abate by

1985-12-09 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $8000.00 · Current $100.00 Reduced