While a compliance officer from OSHA was engaged in a postinspection closing conference at the Swidzinski Construction Company work site, he observed a violation of an OSHA standard that requires "every opensided floor or platform six or more feet above ground to have guardrails all around." The five-story building under construction had platforms made of wooden planks that protruded 6 feet out from each floor. The platforms enabled a crane to deliver pallets of concrete blocks directly to each floor by way of the platforms. An employee operating a forklift on the platform would wheel the pallet of blocks from the edge of the platform into the building, where they would be used. The officer observed a Swidzinski employee stand at the end of such a platform without a guardrail on the fourth floor and signal to the crane operator 41 feet below.
Because in the absence of a guardrail or another protective device this employee was exposed to the hazard of falling, the Secretary of Labor charged Swidzinski with a serious violation of OSHA standards.
Swidzinski appealed this citation, claiming it was impossible to comply with the guardrail standard as the rail would prevent the crane from delivering stock to the fourth-floor platform and would impede construction on the fourth floor.
What factors must OSHRC consider when faced with an employer's impossibility defense? Is it impossible for Swidzinski to comply in this case? Decide. [Frank Swidzinski Co., 9 OSHC 1230]