Metal siding manufacturer's workers still at risk of serious cuts, lacerations and amputations by machines at Elk Grove Village, Illinois, plant OSHA finds violations 3 times in 3 years at Rollex Corp.; company faces $103K in fines

April 21, 2015

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Illinois

For the third time in three years, an Elk Grove Village maker of metal home siding products ignored safety rules for machines. By doing so, the company put workers at risk of cuts, lacerations and amputations. 

Acting on a complaint, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors identified one repeated and five serious safety violations at Rollex Corp.'s metal siding manufacturing plant in October 2014. The company faces $103,000 in proposed penalties.

"More than 200,000 workers are injured by machines in the United States annually. Employees pay the painful price when companies don't follow standards to reduce injuries," said Angeline Loftus, area director of OSHA's Chicago North Office in Des Plaines. "Rollex Corp. needs to act now to put required safety guards in place on large industrial machines that workers use to form and cut steel and aluminum." 

Similar violations were found at Rollex Corp. in September 2011 and May 2012. Repeated violations are issued when the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order is found at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. 

Workers were also found to be in danger of amputation because machines were not shut down properly before repair and maintenance. The machines were also operated without proper safety devices. A total of five serious safety violations were issued. An OSHA violation is serious if an employer knew or should have known of a deadly or serious hazard. 

View the current citations at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/RollexCorporation_1003527_0416_15.pdf*

The company 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 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 Chicago North Area Office at 847-803-4800.

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.

Dollar Tree Store endangers workers again in Texas Citation adds to penalties facing retail chain across the nation

April 21, 2015

HOUSTON, TEXAS

Piled boxes at dangerous heights and blocked exit routes were two of the hazards found at the Houston location of the national discount retailer Dollar Tree Stores Inc. The hazards, both of which led to repeated citations, were found during an investigation by U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors. OSHA proposed $116,200 in penalties for two repeated and four serious violations at the West Gray Street store. Across the nation, Dollar Tree Stores have been cited for more than 200 safety and health violations since 2009.

"It's too easy for workers to get crushed under haphazardly stacked boxes, or trapped when exits are blocked," said Mark Briggs, OSHA's area director in the Houston South office. "Hazards like these put worker safety in jeopardy, and failing to correct them is unacceptable." 

OSHA's November 2014 inspection of the Houston store was prompted by a complaint that alleged blocked exits in the workplace. Two repeated violations, with a penalty of $103,000, were cited for failure to ensure that exit doors were kept clear and unobstructed and that boxes were stored securely. A repeated violation exists when an employer has been cited previously for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. 

The four serious violations, with a penalty of $13,200, were for failing to clearly mark doorways along exit routes; failing to place valve protection caps on compressed helium cylinders; not training workers on fire extinguisher use; and not providing clear access to the breaker box. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

In the second half of 2014, OSHA cited Dollar Tree Stores nationwide for more than $900,000 in fines. The Watauga, Texas, store was cited in September 2014 for two willful and three repeated violations, with a penalty of $262,500.
View the citations at: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/DollarTree_1008888_0420_15.pdf*.

Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, Dollar Tree Stores employ approximately 17,600 full-time and 69,800 part-time workers. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area office, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742), the agency's Houston South office at 281-286-0583 or its Houston North office at 281-591-2438. 

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.

Ocean Springs, Mississippi, contractor willfully ignores fall protection standards that lead to worker's death OSHA investigators issue willful, serious violations in 'preventable' death

April 20, 2015

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. 

Gerald Moran had completed numerous framing jobs like the one at a new Government Street residence in Ocean Springs. Unlike past jobs, this one claimed his life. On Nov. 3, 2014, Moran and two workers installed balcony ceiling planks when Moran lost his balance and fell more than 20 feet. He sustained fatal injuries and died eight days later. 

The company that employed Moran, Thomas Matthews Framing LLC, had not installed safety guardrails on the balcony, which might have saved the life of the 42-year-old father. After learning of Moran's death from news media, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration began an inspection that led OSHA to cite the company for safety violations. 

OSHA cited the company for one willful and two serious violations, with proposed placement in the agency's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

The Ocean Springs house where Gerald Moran fell to his death.

"This tragedy could have been prevented had Thomas Matthews Framing done what it knew was right and followed OSHA safety standards," said Eugene Stewart, OSHA's area director in Jackson. "Employers cannot choose when to follow these practices. The lives of their workers depend on it." 


OSHA issued Thomas Matthews Framing a willful citation for allowing employees to work at heights greater than 6 feet without guardrails or fall protection. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

Two serious citations were issued for not providing guardrails on scaffolding more than 10 feet above a lower level and not training workers to recognize and prevent fall hazards. Other violations include not reporting a fatality to OSHA within eight hours. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. 

Thomas Matthews Framing has no previous OSHA inspection history. The company 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. Proposed penalties total $58,700.

To increase awareness of fall prevention, ensure compliance and target enforcement activities to reduce injuries and fatalities, OSHA has created a Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction*. 

OSHA has also created a fall prevention Web page 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.

Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries shows that fatal work injuries in Mississippi accounted for 64 of the 4,405 fatal work* injuries reported nationally in 2013. Additional details are available at http://www.bls.gov. 

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report 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 Jackson Area Office at 601-965-4606. 

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/.

Tower workers' deaths could have been prevented with personal safety gear. Scaffold collapses during commercial painting job

April 22, 2015

OXFORD, Ohio 

Florjan Nilaj and Gazmend Vukaj left their Michigan homes and traveled 260 miles south to Oxford for a commercial painting job never thinking that Oct. 24, 2014, might be the last day of their lives.

The two men, 25-year-old Nilaj and 40-year-old Vukaj, were seven stories above ground on an electric two-point scaffold. They were painting a 123-foot-tall water tower when the scaffold's hoist failed, and a nylon suspension rope broke. As the scaffold collapsed, the two men fell to their deaths. 

An investigation of the tragedy found that if their employer, V & T Painting LLC, had provided the painters with required equipment to stop their falls, they might have survived. U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors identified 17 serious safety violations at the Oxford site. An additional 13 serious violations were found at a second site in Hamilton, where the company was also contracted by the Southwest Ohio Regional Water District to paint water towers.

"Two families are devastated by this preventable tragedy. No one should have to suffer such a painful loss. Making sure protective equipment is in use and working properly is a common-sense way to save lives and prevent injuries," said Ken Montgomery, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati. "Companies that put their workers dangerously high above the ground must provide protection to stop their falls. We are seeing a disturbing trend in deaths and injuries among workers on communications and other types of towers that could have been prevented." 

OSHA inspectors also found that the scaffolds used by V & T Painting were not designed by a competent person; U-bolts were not installed correctly; and damaged wire ropes, slings, electrical cords and other faulty equipment were in use. The company also did not inspect rigging equipment and scaffolds before use or do site inspections, and it did not train workers about fall protection equipment and standards. Inspectors also discovered that vertical lifelines, support lines and suspension points were attached to the same anchor point, and the company failed to protect lines from sharp edges and abrasion.
OSHA has proposed penalties of $199,000 for the company, based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. 

To view current citations, visit: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/VandTPainting_1007011_0415_15.pdf* 

http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/VandTPainting_1004853_0415_15.pdf* 

To educate construction workers and employers about how to recognize fall hazards and reduce their risks, OSHA and its partners encourage all employees and employers who face workplace fall hazards to participate in this year's National Safety Stand-Down from May 4-15. 

The newly launched National Safety Stand-Down website for 2015 provides details on how to:

• Conduct a Stand-Down event for your company.
• Obtain a certificate of participation.
• Access free education and training resources, fact sheets and outreach materials in English and Spanish. Find free Stand-Down events open to the public.

The National Safety Stand-Down initiative was launched three years ago with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda and The Center for Construction Research and Training. Additional partners for this year's event include the American Society for Safety Engineers; National Safety Council; National Construction Safety Executives; the U.S. Air Force; OSHA-approved state plans; state consultation programs; and OSHA Training Institute Education Centers.
V & T Painting has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director in Cincinnati, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. 

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report 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 Cincinnati Area Office at 513-841-4132. 

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.

3 DEAD, 3 INJURED AFTER FIERY 4-VEHICLE CRASH SOUTH OF ANDREWS, TEXAS

APRIL 22, 2015

ANDREWS, TEXAS

Three people are dead after a fiery late night crash South of Andrews.  3 people were transported to the hospital.

The crash happened around 9 PM Tuesday Night on Highway 385, 8 miles South of Andrews.

Three vehicles were involved in the fatal wreck.

According to Andrews County Sheriff Sam Jones, the crash resulted in three fatalities.