Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
employee. exposed. to. the. hazard. place. or. remove. the. safety. lock.. Employees. must.
check.the.safety.of.the.lockout.by.attempting.a.start-up.after.making.sure.no.one.is.
exposed..Employees.must.be.instructed.to.always.push.the.control.circuit.stop.button.
immediately.after.checking.the.safety.of.the.lockout..A.means.must.be.provided.to.
identify.any.or.all.employees.who.are.working.on.locked-out.equipment.by.their.locks.
or.accompanying.tags..A.suficient.number.of.accident-prevention.signs.or.tags.and.
safety.padlocks.must.be.provided.for.any.reasonably.foreseeable.repair.emergency..
When. machine. operations,. coniguration,. or. size. requires. the. operator. to. leave. his.
or.her.control.station.to.install.tools.or.perform.other.operations,.and.that.part.of.the.
machine.could.move.if.accidentally.activated,.then.that.element.must.be.separated,.
locked,. or. blocked. out.. In. the. event. that. equipment. or. lines. cannot. be. shut. down,.
locked.out,.and.tagged,.a.safe.job.procedure.must.be.established.and.rigidly.followed.
crAne, derrIck, And hoIst sAFety
(29 cFr 1910.179, 1910.180, And 1910.181)
Moving. large,. heavy. loads. is. crucial. to. today's. manufacturing. and. construction.
industries.. Much. technology. has. been. developed. for. these. operations,. including.
careful. training. and. extensive. workplace. precautions.. There. are. signiicant. safety.
issues. to. consider,. both. for. the. operators. of. the. diverse. “lifting”. devices. and. for.
workers.in.proximity.to.them.
More. than. 250,000. crane. operators,. a. very. large. but. undetermined. number. of.
other.workers,.and.the.general.public.are.at.risk.of.serious.and.often.fatal.injury.due.
to. accidents. involving. cranes,. derricks,. hoists,. and. hoisting. accessories.. There. are.
approximately.125,000.cranes.in.operation.today.in.the.construction.industry,.as.well.
as.an.additional.80,000.to.100,000.in.general.and.maritime.industries..According.
to.the.U.S..Bureau.of.Labor.Statistics'.(BLS).Census.of.Fatal.Occupational.Injuries,.
seventy-nine.fatal.occupational.injuries.were.related.to.cranes,.derricks,.hoists,.and.
hoisting.accessories.in.1993..OSHA's.analysis.of.crane.accidents.in.general.industry.
and.construction.identiied.an.average.of.seventy-one.fatalities.each.year.
The.BLS.identiied.eight.fatal.injuries.in.1993.among.crane.and.tower.crane.oper-
ators;.this.corresponds.to.a.risk.of.more.than.one.death.per.thousand.workers.(1.4).
over.a.working.lifetime.of.45.years..According.to.the.1987.BLS.supplementary.data.
system.(twenty-three.states.reporting),.over.1,000.construction.injuries.were.reported.
to.involve.cranes.and.hoisting.equipment..However,.underreporting.of.crane-related.
injuries.and.fatalities,.due.to.misclassiication.and.a.host.of.other.factors,.masks.the.
true.magnitude.of.the.problem.
OSHA's.analysis.identiied.the.major.causes.of.crane.accidents.to.include.boom.or.
crane.contact.with.energized.power.lines.(nearly.45.percent.of.the.cases).under.the.
hook.lifting.device,.overturned.cranes,.dropped.loads,.boom.collapse,.crushing.by.
the.counter.weight,.failure.to.use.outriggers,.falls,.and.rigging.failures.
Some. cranes. are. neither. maintained. properly. nor. inspected. regularly. to. ensure.
safe. operation.. Crane. operators. often. do. not. have. the. necessary. qualiications. to.
operate.each.piece.of.equipment.safely,.and.the.operators'.qualiications.required.in.
the.existing.regulations.may.not.provide.adequate.guidance.to.employers..The.issues.
of.crane.inspection/certiication.and.crane.operator.qualiications.and.certiication.
