January 12, 2016
Investigation finds negligent worker safety practices led to
40-foot fall that paralyzed Pennsylvania construction worker
OSHA cites two construction companies for fall hazards
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - A 30-year-old construction worker returned from a holiday weekend on July 6, 2015, ready to install gutters on new apartment and condominium buildings at 1323 West Chester Pike in West Chester. It was his first day on the job site, and his last as a builder.
As a rough terrain forklift raised a makeshift platform on which he stood up three stories to the roof, the platform toppled and the man fell 40 feet onto the rubble below. The worker suffered serious and permanent injuries, including paralysis from the waist down.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration that followed the incident found that the man's employer, High Quality Builders Inc., a Bordentown, New Jersey, subcontractor routinely misused front-end loaders and similar pieces of equipment to support scaffold platforms. The company also failed to provide fall protection and did not properly train workers to recognize fall hazards. For these and other violations, OSHA issued citations for eight serious and two repeat violations, with $72,880 in penalties.
OSHA cited High Quality Builders for similar violations in March and June 2015. This was the second fall suffered by a company employee in 2015.
The agency also cited the job site's general contractor, TJ Ward Plumbing Heating & Commercial Services LLC of Media, Pennsylvania for eight serious violations, including lack of fall protection and the improper use of powered industrial trucks. The violations carry $24,500 in penalties.
"This tragedy could have been averted if these two companies had not been so careless about worker safety," said Nicholas DeJesse, director of OSHA's Philadelphia Area Office. "A young man is now confined to a wheelchair because of the disregard of the employers at this site for the safety and well-being of their workers. Their actions are inexcusable and will not be tolerated.."
To view the citations, visit: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/TJWard_1096925.pdf*
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/HighQualityBuilders_1099056.pdf*
The companies have 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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 Philadelphia Area Office at 215-597-4950.
January 11, 2016
Three Long Island, NY, workers inside recycling machinery
seriously injured when power is unexpectedly turned on.
Peconic Recycling & Transfer Corp faces $119K in OSHA fines
Employer name: Peconic Recycling & Transfer Corp., 560 Commerce Rd., Cutchogue, N.Y.
Citations issued: On Dec. 29, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Peconic Recycling for one willful and 11 serious violations of workplace safety standards at the company's recycling facility in Cutchogue.
Investigation findings: On July 1, three employees cleaning screens inside a cylindrical screening device called a trommel were seriously injured when another employee unexpectedly restarted the machine. OSHA found that Peconic lacked specific written procedures to lock out* machines' power sources to prevent their unintended startup. The company also lacked a program to manage employees' work in confined spaces safely and failed to train employees to protect themselves against these hazards.
Peconic also put employees at risk of falls of more than 16 feet through uncovered or unguarded sorting bin openings on a conveyor belt. Additional hazards included lack of proper lock-out tools and procedures; no respiratory protection training; and failing to identify and label confined spaces.
Proposed penalties: $119,000
Quote: "This incident and serious injuries suffered by three employees were preventable. The company knew programs needed to be in place to address and prevent these hazards, yet did not provide required and adequate safeguards," said Anthony Ciuffo, OSHA's area director for Long Island. "For the well-being of its employees, Peconic Recycling & Transfer Co. must take prompt and effective corrective action to ensure that this never happens again."
Link to citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/PeconicRecycling_1074890.pdf*
Next steps: Peconic has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, meet with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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 Long Island Area Office at 516- 334-3344.
January 14, 2016
Fall protection could have prevented 39-year-old worker's death.
OSHA cites Custom Contracting, Inc. in October fatality in Raymond, Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. - A newly hired, 39-year-old worker who fell through a roof in October 2015 and later died, could have been saved if his employer provided required fall protection, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.
The man, just two weeks on the job, was installing metal roofing sheets on a commercial building in Raymond for Custom Contracting Inc., his Lincoln-based employer, when he fell more than 20 feet to the concrete below and suffered fatal injuries. Federal inspectors found Custom Contracting failed to provide fall protection that could have saved the man's life. An OSHA investigation into the Oct. 24, 2015 incident led the agency to cite Custom Contracting for six serious safety violations on Jan. 14.
Falls are a leading cause of death for construction workers. In 2014, falls accounted for nearly 40 percent* of all construction fatalities.
"Fatal incidents like these are entirely preventable. They have tragic consequences for the victims, their families, and their communities," said Jeff Funke, OSHA's area director in Omaha. "Construction industry employers must protect workers from falls which continue to be the leading cause of worker's death in the construction industry."
Investigators determined that two workers were installing metal roof sheets on a structural steel building when one of the workers stepped into an opening created by the removal of the adjacent metal roofing sheet and fell. Custom Contracting did not provide the roof workers with required fall protection, such as safety nets or a personal fall-arrest system, OSHA inspectors found.
The agency also found the company failed to train workers to:
Recognize fall hazards.
Render first aid.
Operate powered industrial vehicles.
As the construction industry continues to grow, falls continue to be the leading cause of death.
Source: http://www.bls.gov
In addition, guard rails were not installed on open sides and ends of platforms to prevent falls, and lift trucks were found to be modified without manufacturer's approval.
OSHA has proposed penalties of $36,000. View current citations here*.
OSHA has created a Stop Falls online resource with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures. OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection be in use when workers perform construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level.
The agency's ongoing Fall Prevention Campaign, which began in 2012, was developed in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. The campaign provides employers with lifesaving information and educational materials on how to prevent falls, provide the right equipment for workers and train employees to use that gear properly.
Custom Contracting has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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 office at 402-553-0171.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
January 14, 2016
A-1 Excavating, Inc. again exposes workers to the dangers
of trench cave-ins at Middleton, Wisconsin sewer-line site.
OSHA fines A-1 Excavating $69K for 15th violation since 2000
Employer name: A-1 Excavating Inc., Bloomer, Wisconsin
Inspection site: Valley Ridge Road, Middleton
Citations issued: Jan. 14, 2016
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Madison Area Office cited A-1 Excavating for one willful safety violation for not providing cave-in protection for employees installing a sewer line in a 10-foot deep trench.
Responding to a complaint on July 15, 2015, OSHA investigators found A-1 employees working in an unprotected trench on Valley Ridge Road in Middleton. The agency opened an inspection at the job site under OSHA's National Emphasis Program on trenching and excavation.
Quote: "An unprotected trench can bury a worker under thousands of pounds of soil in seconds and cause severe or fatal injuries," said Ann Grevenkamp, OSHA's area director in Madison. "Since 2000, OSHA has cited A-1 Excavating 15 times for violating federal trenching standards. The company knows that every trench deeper than 5 feet must have cave-in protection."
Proposed Penalties: $69,300
Citations: View here*.
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 Madison Area Office at (608) 441-5388.
January 14, 2016
Genpak facility in Hope Hull cited for exposing Alabama workers
to dangerous hazards causing two serious injuries in two-month span.
Workers faced explosions, amputations and falls; more than $103K in penalties proposed
Employer name: Genpak LLC
Inspection site: 7621 Bill Joseph Parkway, Hope Hull, Alabama
Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on Jan. 13 for two repeated, six serious and one other-than-serious safety violation.
Inspection findings: OSHA initiated two inspections after learning of two serious injuries that occurred in the summer of 2015. In June, a worker suffered a partial amputation of a ring finger as a machine unexpectedly started as he tried to clear a jam. In July, another worker was airlifted to a local hospital after the forklift he was using ignited butane vapors, creating an explosion inside a shipping trailer. He suffered severe burns as a result.
OSHA inspectors cited Genpak for failing to implement specific procedures to prevent machinery from starting up during maintenance and servicing. The employer also exposed workers to fall hazards from unguarded platforms. OSHA previously cited the company for similar violations in 2011 and 2012 at its Middletown, New York and Hope Hull, Alabama facilities.
The serious citations are related to failing to use an explosion-proof forklift in an area filled with flammable gas; exposing workers to machinery that could start up during maintenance and servicing; exposing workers to being struck by improperly stacked boxes and not protecting workers from electrical deficiencies. Other violations include failing to notify* OSHA, within 24 hours, of a workplace amputation.
Quote: "I am concerned that this employer is continuing to expose its workers to previously cited and easily identifiable hazards," said Joseph Roesler, OSHA's area director in Mobile. "Management needs to review its safety program and ensure that safety hazards are not only being addressed, but also shared with the other facilities within the company."
Proposed penalties: $103,100
The citations can be viewed at:
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Genpak_1090051.pdf*
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Genpak_1077598.pdf*
Genpak LLC manufactures food packaging products. The company is headquartered in Middletown, New York and employs nearly 200 workers at 18 facilities throughout North America. The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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 Mobile Area Office at 251-441-6131.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.