Source: http://openjurist.org/624/f2d/38/osh-oshd-fred-wilson-drilling-company-inc-v-f-marshall-u-s
Timestamp: 2016-12-04 00:06:12
Document Index: 391853996

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1910', '§ 1910', '§ 1910', '§ 660', '§ 1910', '§ 1910']

624 F2d 38 Osh Oshd Fred Wilson Drilling Company Inc v. F Marshall U S | OpenJurist
624 F. 2d 38 - Osh Oshd Fred Wilson Drilling Company Inc v. F Marshall U S HomeFederal Reporter, Second Series 624 F.2d.
624 F2d 38 Osh Oshd Fred Wilson Drilling Company Inc v. F Marshall U S 624 F.2d 38
8 O.S.H. Cas.(BNA) 1921, 1980 O.S.H.D. (CCH) P 24,715FRED WILSON DRILLING COMPANY, INC., Petitioner,v.F. Ray MARSHALL, Secretary of Labor, U. S. Department ofLabor, Occupational Safety and Health ReviewCommission, Respondent.
No. 78-3077.
Fred Wilson Drilling Company appeals a final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission which sustained the administrative law judge's ("ALJ") findings.1 The ALJ fined the drilling company $250 for violating standard 29 C.F.R. § 1910.36(b)(1) by failing to provide a "Geronimo" escape line for derrickmen working on the "monkey board" platform of its oil drilling rig number nine, and $100 for violating standard 29 C.F.R. § 1910.212(a)(1) by failing to guard the rig's Kelly bushing and rotary table. We affirm the finding of liability for violation of the first standard; we vacate the second.
The monkey board is a horizontal platform on the derrick approximately ninety feet above the derrick floor and over 100 feet above ground. Employees work on this platform handling sections of drill pipe during drilling operations. Although there are a number of means of exit from this platform, the ALJ's finding that no escape route accessible from the platform would allow descent other than straight down was uncontradicted. The Geronimo line, by providing a method of egress at an angle away from the derrick, provides a safe means of escape in the event of a fire or explosion resulting from drilling, and therefore satisfies 29 C.F.R. § 1910.36(b)(1). Because we find substantial evidence on the record as a whole to support the Commission's factual determinations, 29 U.S.C. § 660(a), we affirm.
The drilling company was found in violation of the standard 29 C.F.R. § 1910.212(a)(1) for failure to guard the Kelly bushing and rotary table. The rotary table, flush with the derrick floor, is approximately three feet in diameter and is constantly rotating during the drilling process. The Kelly bushing rests upon the rotary table surrounding the Kelly, which is a heavy, vertical steel pipe. Power is transmitted from a bank of diesel engines, generators, or power units through a belt system to the rotary table/bushing unit. The rotary table turns the bushing, and together they transmit rotation power to the Kelly while simultaneously permitting vertical movement of the Kelly. The Kelly in turn transmits power to the drill string and cutting bit.
The Commission's order upholding the ALJ's citation and fine for violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.212(a)(1) is not supported by substantial evidence and is therefore set aside.