Thursday, August 27, 2015

Select Van and Storage doing business as Mayflower/United, in Omaha, Nebraska cited in heat-related death of worker



U.S. Department of Labor | Aug. 26, 2015

Moving company cited in heat-related death of worker

Employer name: Select Van and Storage doing business as Mayflower/United, 10511 S. Circle, Omaha, Nebraska

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one serious, and one other-than-serious safety violation to the company by mail on Aug. 14, 2015.

Investigation findings: One serious violation was issued for exposing workers to excessive heat* following an investigation into the death of a 49-year-old employee on June 9. The worker was packing and loading boxes in a moving truck on a day when the heat index reached 112 degrees Fahrenheit. He suffered heat stroke and died later that same day at a local hospital. He had been employed by the company for more than eight years.

The company was also issued one other-than-serious violation for failing to report the death of a worker within eight hours, as required.

Quote: “You hear a story like this and it just breaks your heart. Heat deaths are so preventable. There’s just no reason for a worker to die this way. If you’re working in those extreme triple digits, you’ve got to train your workers to recognize the symptoms of heat stroke* and seek immediate medical attention,” said Darwin Craig, OSHA’s acting area director in Omaha. “Additional breaks, water and shade are important preventive steps.”

Proposed Penalties: $12,000

Link to citations:
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20151630fs.pdf*

OSHA’s Heat Safety Tool phone app allows workers and supervisors to calculate the heat index at their worksite, and, based on the heat index, displays a risk level to outdoor workers. The app is available for iPhone and Android mobile phones.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Omaha Area Office at 402-553-0171.