A Houston crane company whose employee was electrocuted while dismantling a construction crane that was too close to a power line was properly cited for safety violations, according to a decision by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

In 2016 a TNT Crane & Rigging Inc. employee was seriously burned on the job. Inspectors alleged there were two serious violations, exposing employees to the hazard of electrical shock by failing to prevent encroachment or contact with the power lines while disassembling the crane, and for placing the crane closer than “the minimum approach distance” to a power line during that process.

TNT Crane had argued that it was not disassembling the crane at the time, and an administrative law judge agreed, dismissing the citations because the cited provisions “did not apply to the work being done by TNT at the time of the accident” because OSHA’s definition of assembly and disassembly are ambiguous and inspectors failed to interpret the standards properly.

However, the full commission disagreed and stated that the Secretary of Labor’s interpretation was “within scope” and “we find the regulatory history supports the Secretary’s interpretation of disassembly as a process that is not limited to physical dismantling,” according to the ruling.

Under that interpretation, the task being done when the accident occurred was part of TNT’s disassembly process, as it required moving the pins connecting the jib to the boom and dismantled part of the crane.

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