Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 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: A struck by hazard from the breakout and makeup tongs at Rig #6 located at Parks 672, #15 lease, Gail, TX 79738. The employer, Hack Drilling Co. Inc., exposed employees working on Rig #6 located in Borden County, TX on the Parks 672 #15 lease to struck by hazards. The controls activating the clutch drum and cathead were not distinguishable in that the operator (driller) would be unable to correctly identify one from the other by feel rather than sight. On October 11, 1997 the driller on rig #6 inadvertently activated the cathead control instead of the clutch drum control causing the breakout tongs to strike a roustabout in the upper body and head. The controls were located such that one control could easily mistaken for the other. Both controls had the same type knob which prevented the driller from distinguishing one control from the other, causing the driller to inadvertently activate the cathead control rather than the drum clutch control. among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method is to change the configuration of one of the two knobs so that the clutch drum control is distinguishable from the cathead control.