violation Archives - Martin Technical

Repeat OSHA Citations For Pueblo Construction Company

PUEBLO, CO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) performed two follow-up inspections in February 2021 at Key Structures LLC. This led to 13 willful repeat and serious violations. The citations at the Colorado construction company resulted in $222,055 combined penalties.

OSHA identified one willful violation for using damaged scaffolding and one repeat violation for failing to train workers on scaffolding safety. It also identified seven serious violations. The serious violations included: Failure to use fall protection,unsafe use of ladders and scaffolding, and unsafe storage of compressed gas cylinders.

OSHA issued a press release regarding the citations at the Colorado construction company. OSHA Area Director Chad Vivian in Greenwood Village, Colorado stated “Key Structures’ willful and continued negligence shows an intentional disregard for worker safety. Falls are a leading cause of worker deaths which is why employers must train workers on scaffolding safety and comply with fall prevention standards. Our job [is] to hold them accountable when they don’t.”

Key Structure’s Website states it was formed in 2018 as a subsidiary of the Challenger Group. It focuses on building off-site components for the construction of homes, apartments and townhomes.

Key Structures has 15 business days from receipt of the 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.

Facility Given 22 Serious Citations by OSHA

COLUMBUS, GA – A Facility has been given 22 serious citations by OSHA. HPPE LLC was given a safety and health inspection at its Columbus chemical manufacturing facility. According to ValdostaToday, the inspection was conducted under OSHA’s Regional Emphasis Program for Powered Industrial Trucks. The inspection has resulted in a proposed $136,816 in penalties.

Among the 22 serious citations were citations for confined space, fall protection, and lockout tagout. The investigation showed the employer failed to do the following:

Provide hazard communication program training to employees working with chemicals.
Establish or implement a written confined space program for workers who enter tanks and/or vats.
Provide employees working with chemicals with emergency means for flushing eyes and the body.
Display labels on containers that store chemicals.
Train workers operating powered industrial trucks and repair damaged storage racks with bent and damaged supports.
Keep doorways unlocked, marked and illuminated properly as exits, and keep doorways free of obstruction.
Provide guarding and other fall protection systems or training for employees working from elevated platforms and near open pits to prevent them from falling.
Train workers on procedures for isolating energy sources on machines while performing repair work (lockout/tagout).

Martin Technical offers training in confined space, fall protection, and lockout tagout to prevent fines such as these.

May 27, 2021

Confined Space Fall Safety Industrial Accident Lockout Tagout & Hazardous Energy OSHA Violations Training Workplace Safety Comments are closed Kate Christofferson

Six Contractors Cited For Fall Safety Hazards on Luxury Home Construction Site

MARLTON, NJ – Six contractors were cited for fall safety hazards on a luxury home construction site. OSHA listed the six companies in their press release put out on Monday. Combined, there were 4 willful and 35 serious violations. Most the violations were for failing to provide fall protection or fall protection training. Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry. They are also repeatedly the number one most frequently cited violation of the year for OSHA.

The penalties total $244,397. One of the six contractors cited for fall safety, Lifetime Contractor Corp., is responsible for over half of those penalties. OSHA began the inspections as part of its Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction. On October 20th, 2020, a compliance officer observed workers exposed to falls and other hazards. The same was observed during a second inspection the 22nd. This prompted a third inspection on the 31st.

OSHA Area Director Paula Dixon-Roderick was quoted as saying, “A fall can permanently alter or end a worker’s life in a matter of seconds. Contractors and subcontractors in the construction industry have a legal obligation to comply with the law and ensure their workers end their shifts safely. When employers fail to follow requirements, OSHA will hold them responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”

The companies have 15 business days from receipt of their citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.

Martin Technical, in partnership with PIXO VR, offers Fall Protection Training to help companies avoid fines such as these.

May 13, 2021

Fall Safety Industrial Accident Training Workplace Safety Comments are closed Kate Christofferson

Water Facility Cited for Fall Injury

PEWAUKEE, WI – A water facility has been cited for a fall injury in the Milwaukee area. A worker was injured in 2020. A guardrail was loosened. The worker then fell and struck his head on a support beam. The accident occurred in a nearly 30-foot deep water test pit.

The water facility cited for the fall injury is Xylem Inc. In OSHA’s press release they explain the company is being cited for nine violations. Eight of the violations are serious, and one willful. The penalties for these violations total $234,054. Over half that amount is due to the willful violation. That violation is for failure to provide fall protection.

Most the remainder of the penalties are made up by confined space safety violations. Xylem is being cited as failing to follow permit-required procedures before entering the water test pits.

The OSHA Area Director stated, “This worker’s injury could have been prevented if appropriate fall protection was provided.”

Xylem Inc. is a water company specializing in wastewater and energy. Xylem employs over 1,600 workers in the US. 57 of these are at their Pewaukee water facility that is cited for the fall injury.

The company has 15 business days from receipt to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.

Martin Technical provides training in both fall protection and confined spaces safety. These trainings prevent accidents such as this one, and the citations that can follow.

May 6, 2021

Confined Space Fall Safety Industrial Accident OSHA Violations Training Workplace Safety Comments are closed Kate Christofferson

Spice Importer Cited by OSHA

JACKSON, AL – A Spice importer has been cited by OSHA. iSpice is a global spice importer located in Jackson, Alabama. OSHA reported on April 23rd that they are citing the company $121,511 in penalties.

The workers were found to be exposed to amputations, struck-by, crushed-by and electrical hazards. OSHA found iSpice allowed workers to clean the plant’s mixing machines without employing lockout tagout. They employer also failed to implement energy control procedures, train workers on lockout/tagout, and use machine guarding in regards to a rotating portion of the mixer.

Other hazards included allowing workers to use industrial trucks with a damage seatbelt; failing to ensure drivers were competent to operate the equipment; exposing them to electrical hazards by allowing boxes and outlets that were uncovered or lacked faceplates to be used; and a fan with a splice in the cord to be used.

In their press release, OSHA quoted Area Director Jose Gonzalez, “This employer put their employees at serious risk needlessly by failing to provide training and implement well-known protections. These protections are not optional, they are every workers right.”

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.

Martin Technical provides Lockout Tagout services and training to help companies avoid citations such as these and the accidents they can cause.

April 29, 2021

Electrical Safety & Arc Flash Industrial Accident Lockout Tagout & Hazardous Energy OSHA Violations Training Training Category Workplace Safety Comments are closed Kate Christofferson

Florida Contractor Cited for Fall Hazard Violations

BUNNELL, FL – A Florida contractor was cited for fall hazard violations, totaling over $61k. Fall safety is often the number one cited Safety Violation of the year. OSHA released this announcement on April 7th, 2021.

OSHA stated this citation was part of its Regional Emphasis Program for Fall in Construction. The contractor cited for fall hazard violations, P & S Service Group Inc. has repeat violations for failing to ensure employees use fall protection while working from heights greater than 6 feet. The company was cited for a similar violation in October, 2017. The 2021 violation totals $61,575. P & S, a framing and and sheathing contractor, has 15 days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference, or contest the findings before OSHA.

According OSHA’s press release, and BizJournals.com OSHA Area Director Michelle Gonzalez in Jacksonville, Florida stated “This employer has repeatedly disregarded the safety of their employees despite previous OSHA violations. Employers must ensure that workers are protected from these well-known hazards.”

In partnership with PIXO VR, we offer fall protection training through Virtual Reality training.

April 15, 2021

Fall Safety Industrial Accident Workplace Safety Comments are closed Kate Christofferson

MO Contractor Fined $224K after Trench Collapse, Employee Injury

Creve Coeur, MO- OSHA cited a Missouri contractor for violations of trenching and excavation standards after an employee suffered severe injuries when a 20-foot trench collapsed during an excavation at Creve Coeur Sanitary Sewer Trunk.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Unnerstall Contracting Company LLC, based in Pacific, Missouri, for three willful and four serious violations. The penalties amounted to $224,459.

The company was cited for failing to use adequate trench protective systems, permitting employees to ride in the bucket of hydraulic excavators, allowing water to accumulate in the floor of the trench, failing to provide a safe means of egress from the trench, failing to protect workers from struck-by hazards, and failing to place excavated soil piles an adequate distance from trench edges.

OSHA has since placed the company in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the OSHA 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.

These penalties and citations embody a number of safety topics and issues, some of which could be prevented and resolved by proper management training.

Read more from original source.

July 7, 2020

Industrial Accident OSHA Violations Training Comments are closed admin

At Hard Rock Hotel, OSHA cites ‘Willful’ and ‘Serious’ Safety Violations

New Orleans, LA- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration found numerous safety violations at the site of the 18-story Hard Rock Hotel construction site in New Orleans, which partially collapsed in October, killing three and injuring dozens.

The top floors of the high-rise building on the edge of the French Quarter collapsed unexpectedly on the morning of Oct. 12, sending debris cascading into the streets and injuring workers and bystanders. The bodies of two of the workers killed in the accident remain trapped in the rumble.

OSHA fined 11 contractors on the project for life-threatening violations, with the largest fines imposed against Heaslip Engineering. Heaslip Engineering, based in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, was found to have committed both “serious” and “willful” violations and was fined $154,214.

OSHA’s findings included that “floor beams on the 16th floor were under-designed in load capacity” and “structural steel connections were inadequately designed, reviewed or approved,” the latter a “willful” violation.

OSHA defines a “serious” violation as one that could “cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm.” A “willful” violation is one where “the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement (purposeful disregard) or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.”

Besides the 11 previously stated, other contractors working on the Hard Rock Hotel project were cited for safety violations that included a lack of training, not providing protective equipment and failing to keep exits clear.

Read more from original source.

April 7, 2020

Industrial Accident OSHA Violations Comments are closed admin

UPS Conveyor Belt Death, OSHA Investigates

Kansas City, MO — A federal agency has opened an investigation after conveyor belt death at a UPS facility in Kansas City, Missouri. A spokeswoman for UPS said Tuesday afternoon that the man, who was transported to North Kansas City Hospital in life-threatening condition on Monday night, died Tuesday morning. The man was an employee of a UPS vendor and was maintaining equipment at the facility when the incident occurred.

Authorities have not released the man’s name or any other details about what led to the incident.

In a statement, UPS said it was continuing to work with authorities.

“We are saddened for the loss of a vendor’s employee, who was maintaining equipment at one of our facilities,” the statement read. “We are working with the responding authorities, and extend our heartfelt condolences to the individual’s family, friends and coworkers.”

According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Labor, compliance officers with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have opened an investigation at the UPS facility at 1010 N. Century Ave.

The spokesperson said that no further details will be released until OSHA completes the investigation, which it has six months to do by law.

Understanding OSHA’s regulations and having proper employee training is essential in avoiding hazardous situations, such as this conveyor belt death.

The agency, which has jurisdiction over 7 million work sites across the U.S., prioritizes inspections at places that present “imminent danger situations” or where “severe injuries and illnesses,” including work-related fatalities, have occurred.

Emergency crews responded to the facility, which is just south of Front Street and east of Interstate 435, around 6 p.m. Monday. Crews performed CPR on the man on the way to the hospital.

Police initially reported that the man had been pronounced dead at the UPS facility, but said about an hour later that he was alive but had life-threatening injuries. UPS confirmed his death on Tuesday afternoon.

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February 21, 2020

OSHA Violations Comments are closed admin

Worker Killed at Oregon Construction Site

Eugene, OR- Officials with Oregon Occupational Safety and Health are investigating a fatal accident that killed a worker Saturday morning at a Beltline construction site.

According to Eugene Springfield Fire, a worker in his early sixties was pinched between an excavator and a barrier near the Delta Highway and Beltline interchange just before 11 a.m. When first responders arrived, the worker had been freed and was transported to Riverbend hospital with “serious” injuries.

The Oregon Department of Transportation said the accident halted work on the project for some time.

According to officials, the worker was an employee of contractor Hamilton Construction. In a statement, the company confirmed the death and told KEZI 9 News, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and co-workers. We lost a great employee and friend.”

The company said that safety is it’s top priority and will cooperate with authorities to investigate the cause of the accident.

OSHA said it has 180 days to complete the investigation.

According to the US Bureau of Labor statistics, in 2018 there were nearly 5,000 public workplace deaths with over 1,000 of those being construction related — accounting for over 20 percent of workplace fatalities.

In Oregon, of 62 public workplace fatalities, 11 were in construction.

OSHA specifies four key dangers they coin the “fatal four” in construction; falls, electrocution, being struck by an object, or getting caught in or between something. Training workers and management and meeting OSHA standards regarding the “fatal four” could potentially lead to more regulated and less fatal incidents.

According to ODOT, work is being done in the center median of the Beltline highway, closing center lanes in both directions throughout the weekend. Officials said lane closures are still expected to end by 6 a.m. Monday morning

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January 27, 2020

Industrial Accident Comments are closed admin