Massachusetts Bay Electrical Corp. Cited for Crane
Tip-Over, Deaths of Two Employees
OSHA has issued safety violations in
connection with two worker fatalities on Cape Cod, Mass., saying the employer
failed to ensure proper crane operation and employee training.
Oct 2, 2014
The deaths of two workers in a crane
tip-over on April 12 in Bourne, Mass. could have been prevented if their
employer, Massachusetts Bay Electrical Corp., had set up and operated the crane
according to the manufacturer's instructions and trained employees in its
proper operation, according to findings from an OSHA inspection.
"These deaths were
preventable," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and
southeastern Massachusetts. "The employer did not refer to or use readily
available and necessary information that would have allowed this work to be
conducted safely. This lapse placed two workers in harm's way and needlessly
cost them their lives."
The employees were working from a
raised personnel platform attached to an Elliott 40142 truck-mounted crane.
They were working on power lines on the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal,
when the crane overturned and fell more than 150 feet to the ground.
OSHA found that company employees
were not properly trained or evaluated on the Elliott 40142 truck-mounted crane
prior to use. Supervisors at the job site did not follow procedures for setting
up and operating the crane in accordance with the crane's safety manual, even
though the manual was in the crane and at the job site. They also did not
conduct proper pre-lift planning and other required tests to ensure that the
lift could be done safely.
These conditions resulted in OSHA
citing Massachusetts Bay Electrical Corp. for two willful violations of
workplace safety standards. A willful violation is one committed with
intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with
plain indifference to worker safety and health.
OSHA also cited the company for four
serious violations, including not using load charts to determine the crane's
minimum boom angle, not using an aerial lift, allowing the crane to operate at
greater than 50 percent of the rated capacity for its configuration and for
failing to conduct a trial lift of the personnel platform prior to use. A serious
violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious
physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or
should have known.
Massachusetts Bay Electrical Corp.,
which faces $168,000 in fines, has 15 business days from receipt of its
citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with Gordon
or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety & Health
Review Commission.
