MSHA
Recently I was asked to give my opinion on an accident involving a top riding trolley hoist. Apparently this unit was out of service for seven months and within a few days of the equipment being put back into service there was an accident which caused an injury. My first question was” Did the unit under go an inspection before being placed into service?” The answer was no. I went on to explain that both OSHA and ANSI require an inspection anytime a unit is placed into service after sitting this long. I also mentioned that perhaps this accident could have been avoided if in fact a complete inspection was performed. I was then told that the OSHA regulations and ANSI standards did not apply. Apparently this unit falls under the jurisdiction of MSHA. To make matters worse the owners of the failed equipment are the first ones to tell you, that they don’t have to comply with OSHA. After researching the MSHA requirements I realized that except for a few basic items, MSHA doesn’t have much at all when it comes to the design, inspection, testing and maintenance of this equipment. I took this one step further and talked with an MSHA compliance officer that also confirmed my research. My big question to MSHA was “Does MSHA have any regulations on overhead cranes and hoists requiring compliance with any ANSI standards?” The reply was no. It is amazing to me that the US Department of Labor allows a government agency under their control to be lax in safety regulations regarding overhead cranes and hoists. If MSHA would read their own accident statistics they just might find that incorporating additional regulations on this type of equipment may prevent future accidents. Any comments on this subject would be appreciated.
Richard Wehrmeister
Richard,
My few contacts with MSHA (chance meetings at quarries) have proven that they pay no attention to cranes. On mobiles they ask if it's got an inspection decal-nothing more. They do not even look at the inspection documents referred to on the decal!
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My suggestion is do not ask MSHA, ask some one knowledgeable at OSHA. My general understanding is that OSHA has jurisdiction over safety. If another agency is taking care of safety within its own general jurisdiction, OSHA will let it be.
Also, manufacturer's specifications comply with ANSI/ASME standards and with OSHA general industry regulations. I do not think any one, or any agency , can over ride the manufacturer's requirements.
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Inspecting overhead cranes to comply with the manufacturers inspecting requirements would be the most prudent and logical course to take, a basic fact is neither ANSI/ASME nor OSHA mention following the manufacturer’s inspection requirements under either frequent or periodic inspection except for in OSHA in regards to hooks. The regulations and standards both state that the manufacturer requirements must be met during maintenance of the unit. This is a subject I have been trying to get changed by the B30 ASME committee for the next rewrite of ANSI B30.2. My question to the ASME committee is “Why does the standard say that an overhead crane must meet the manufacturer’s requirements for maintenance, yet doesn’t state that the manufacturer’s inspection requirements be met?” Many manufacturers are also using the term frequent and periodic inspection.
As to OSHA and MSHA on jurisdictional issues, there was an interagency agreement between MSHA and OSHA first published in 1979 by the United States Department of Labor. This agreement basically stated that each agency has jurisdiction based on the type of operation. The Department of Labor actually has a listing of different operations and includes the agency the operation falls under or is responsible for. It goes on to say “when any question of jurisdiction between MSHA and OSHA arises there must be an interagency agreement with an approved plan”.
Richard
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Confusion regarding inspection requirements is rampant. Until our own industry abandons the too common "annual" and educates the user on the Fed OSHA requirements for Initial, Periodic Frequent and Monthly (Hook Rope/Chain)we will have too many cranes operating in unsafe condition.
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