Best Buy Co. Inc. store on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth Georgia has been cited by OSHA with five safety violations after a worker suffered severe head injuries from a fall in January.

The employee was stacking televisions on a storage rack while standing on an elevated powered industrial truck’s platform when it suddenly tilted and caused the employee to fall approximately 12 feet.

Two repeat violations include failing to provide personal protective equipment that fit the employee and guardrails for a 12-foot fall hazard. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited 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 company was cited in 2008 at an Illinois location involving similar equipment.

One serious violation involves allowing modifications to a powered industrial truck without manufacturer approval by taping shut the drive limit switch. 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.

Two other-than-serious violations include failing to properly fill out the OSHA 300 log of workplace-related injuries and illnesses in 2008, and failing to certify the log in 2008 and 2009. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

“This injury resulted from managers’ complacency, as they failed to oversee powered industrial truck operators to make sure that fall protection was being used,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “The fact that the body belt was too big for the operator shows a lack of concern and a desire to get the job done regardless of danger to the worker.”

Initial penalties total $76,000.  However, the OSHA Website shows an informal settlement has taken the fines down to $32,000 and one of the repeat citations has been changed to a serious citation.
http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=314207135

OSHA cites Alabama canopy company for exposing workers to fall hazards; proposes more than $202,000 in fines

Federal OSHA has cited Chapman Canopy Inc. with 12 safety violations, chiefly for exposing workers to fall hazards while installing canopies in Pinson, Albertville and Tuscaloosa. Proposed penalties total $202,040.

In November 2010, OSHA began its inspection at a work site in Pinson as part of a regional emphasis program focused on fall hazards. Inspectors observed workers being exposed to fall hazards while installing a canopy at a new gas station. Later inspections were conducted at job sites in Albertville and Tuscaloosa, which revealed similar fall hazards.

At the Pinson site, five repeat violations with $96,400 in penalties were cited for exposing workers to overhead hazards by failing to ensure head protection was worn, failing to fully plank the scaffold platform, failing to have fall protection for employees working from a scaffold, using the top step of a ladder to gain access to the top of the scaffolding, and not having a safe entry and exit to the upper level of the canopy. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited 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. Chapman Canopy was most recently cited in August 2009 for similar violations at a Madison location.

One serious and two repeat safety violations were cited at the Albertville site with $81,220 in penalties for failing to provide a fully planked scaffold platform, exposing workers to fall hazards and not extending the ladder 3 feet above the top of the canopy to prevent falling during transition from the ladder to the canopy. 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.

One serious and three repeat safety violations were cited at the Tuscaloosa site with $24,420 in penalties for exposing workers to overhead hazards by failing to ensure head protection was worn, failing to properly plank the scaffold platform, using the top step of a ladder to gain access to the top of the scaffolding and not using an appropriate personal fall protection system that would prevent the worker from making contact with a lower level.

“Chapman Canopy’s refusal to implement proper fall protections reflects a careless approach to workplace safety, leaving workers at risk of serious injury and possible death,” said Roberto Sanchez, OSHA’s area director in Birmingham. “This company needs to take immediate steps to eliminate these hazards.”

Chapman Canopy manufactures and installs canopies used at convenience stores and gas stations. It conducts business in the Southeast, mainly in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, with headquarters in Hueytown, Ala.

Champion Builders exposed employees to falls of up to 53 feet at hotel construction site resulting in $143,000 in fines

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Champion Builders LLC for alleged willful, serious and repeat violations of workplace safety standards following OSHA’s inspection of a hotel construction site in Madison. The Bristol steel erection contractor faces a total of $143,000 in proposed fines, chiefly for fall hazards at the 94 West Wharf Road work site.

OSHA found employees exposed to falls of up to 53 feet while working without protection on the building’s roof, and to falls of 7 to 25 feet from unprotected or inadequately protected wall and window openings. Other fall hazards stemmed from an unguarded floor hole, missing or inadequate stair railings, and a lack of training for workers to recognize and address fall hazards. In addition, the operator of a powered industrial truck used to move steel around the job site was not trained in its safe operation, exposing employees to being struck or crushed by the vehicle.

“The sizable fines proposed here reflect not only the gravity of these conditions but the employer’s knowledge of them and history of similar violations,” said Robert Kowalski, OSHA’s area director in Bridgeport. “The citations address the employer’s failure to comply with basic construction safety requirements. These conditions must be effectively addressed so they do not occur again.”

As a result of its inspection, OSHA issued Champion Builders two willful citations with $110,000 in proposed fines for the rooftop and powered industrial truck hazards; three serious citations with $19,000 in fines for hazards relating to the floor hole, stair rail and lack of training; and one repeat citation with a $14,000 fine for the unguarded window and wall openings.

A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. 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. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited 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 repeat citation stems from OSHA having cited the company in June 2007 for a similar hazard in East Hartford.

INDIANAPOLIS (March 15, 2011) – The Indiana Department of Labor announced today it is citing the University of Notre Dame with the most serious safety violation allowable under Indiana law for the fatal-injury death of student employee Declan Sullivan.

Sullivan, 20 years old at the time of his death, was killed while he was videotaping a Notre Dame football practice from a scissor lift that was toppled in high winds on Oct. 27, 2010.

“We’ve issued a knowing citation, which indicates the most serious safety violation,” said Department of Labor Commissioner Lori Torres during a morning news briefing at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. “The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated that the university made a decision to utilize its scissor lifts in known adverse weather conditions.”

The agency also cited Notre Dame with five other serious safety violations, including failure to properly train the student employees in how to operate a scissor lift. In all, fines amounting to $77,500 were levied against the university.

Torres said her agency also will launch a statewide education and outreach initiative directed toward universities, colleges and high schools. “Scissor and other lifts are used by many athletic and band programs nationwide to videotape practices and broadcast events. We want to ensure that they are only being used by trained operators in safe conditions.”

Today, the Indiana Department of Labor issued a letter to a number of associations around the state to urge high schools, colleges and universities to review their use of scissor lifts in athletic and band events.

Notre Dame was informed of the investigation findings on Tuesday morning prior to the news briefing. The university will have 15 business days, by Indiana law, to pay the fines and correct the violations cited in the investigation report, or to contest them to the Indiana Board of Safety Review.

A copy of the safety order is available on the Indiana Department of Labor’s website at: www.in.gov/dol/2367.htm

OSHA has cited CTI-SSI Food Services LLC of Wilder, Idaho, with 15 serious, one repeat and one other-than-serious violation after an inspection of its facility identified a potential release of anhydrous ammonia and other workplace hazards. Proposed penalties total $132,000.

OSHA’s area office in Boise began an investigation last year as part of a national emphasis program on chemical facilities.

“This employer disregarded industry-recognized hazards and exposed workers to the threat of serious injury or death associated with the potential release of anhydrous ammonia,” said Dean Ikeda, OSHA’s regional administrator in Seattle. “Additionally, OSHA identified serious electrical, lockout/tagout and fall hazards.”

The serious violations involve inadequate process safety management, failing to provide fall protection and failing to provide electrical guarding protection. In addition, the employer did not require use of locking devices to make equipment safe during maintenance procedures. 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.

A repeat citation was issued due to the lack of an employee alarm system that was audible or recognizable over other workplace noise. The company was cited for the same violation on March 7, 2008. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited 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.

Finally, the company was issued one other-than-serious citation for failing to monitor airborne chromium exposure. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

CTI-SSI Food Services LLC, which provides cooked and uncooked meat for the fast food industry, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to contest these findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Volvo Aero Connecticut has been cited by OSHA for 17 alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards at its Newington manufacturing plant. The airplane engine parts manufacturer faces a total of $83,400 in proposed fines for a cross section of hazards identified during a comprehensive OSHA inspection.

“Our inspection found employees exposed to a range of hazards that could result in potentially serious or fatal injuries if not promptly and effectively corrected,” said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA’s area director in Hartford. “Workers at this plant face the risks of falls, fires, explosions, electrocution, struck-by injuries, chemical exposure and being caught in unguarded operating machinery. For the safety and health of its workers, the company must address these issues so that they do not occur again.”

Specific violations cited by OSHA included workers being hoisted on the load hook of an overhead crane; an improperly designed combustible dust collection system; a lack of personal protective equipment; uncovered containers of flammable liquids; improper disposal of combustible rags; failure to conduct air monitoring to determine employees’ exposure to hexavalent chromium; unguarded milling machines, belts, pulleys and grinders; and failure to re-evaluate workers’ ability to safely operate fork trucks and provide operators with refresher training.

In addition, the company was cited for several electrical safety violations. These included electrical equipment unapproved for a Class II (combustible dust) location, flexible cords used in lieu of permanent wiring, defective electrical equipment, a lack of an electrical safety-related work practices program and failure to provide such training to maintenance employees.

OSHA cites Associated Milk Producers, Bechel Bros. and seven additional milk haulers in probe following worker death.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued Associated Milk Producers Inc. of Blair and Bechel Bros. Inc. of Plum City, Wis., one willful safety citation each for failing to provide fall protection for workers. Associated Milk has received additional citations. All citations stem from an investigation prompted by the Aug. 23, 2010, death of a Bechel Bros. driver who fell from a delivery truck at an Associated Milk Producers’ intake facility in Blair. Serious citations also have been issued to seven other milk transporters for failing to provide fall protection.

“Associated Milk Producers and Bechel Bros. willfully ignored the law and failed to provide adequate fall protection for employees at the Blair intake facility. Associated Milk Producers has demonstrated an awareness of the OSHA requirement by installing adequate fall protection at its 12 other Midwest intake facilities,” said Mark Hysell, the agency’s area director in Eau Claire, Wis. “Additionally, seven other milk hauling companies failed to protect their workers from falls during the intake process and while cleaning milk trailers. Employers are responsible for knowing what hazards exist in their workplaces and ensuring that workers are not exposed to risks that could result in injury or death.”

OSHA issued the willful citation to Associated Milk Producers for allegedly failing to fully implement and properly install fall protection for workers performing milk unloading operations. Additionally, two serious citations were issued for not providing training, evaluation and certification for operators of powered industrial vehicles. The cooperative faces fines of $72,500 as a result of the investigation.

OSHA also issued Bechel Bros. one willful citation alleging that the company failed to provide proper fall protection while requiring its workers to wash out milk trailers from above. A worker died from injuries sustained after falling more than 10 feet from the top of a truck. The proposed penalty for failing to provide proper fall protection is $14,000.

OSHA has placed Bechel Bros. Inc. in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. Initiated in the spring of 2010, SVEP focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations. For more information on SVEP, see http://www.osha.gov/dep/svep-directive.pdf*.

Seven other milk haulers that deliver to Associated Milk Producers’ Blair facility each were issued one serious citation and a $4,200 fine for failing to provide fall protection for their drivers during unloading operations. Six of those companies are based in Wisconsin: Neitzel’s Trucking Inc. of Alma, Scott Wunk Trucking of Fountain City, A. J. Overhouse Transport LLC of La Crosse, Sampson Trucking Inc. of Melrose, and Mark L. Hutchinson LLC and Myrens Trucking LLC, both of Eleva. Von Arx Brothers Inc. is based in Hokah, Minn.

Associated Milk Producers Inc. is a dairy marketing cooperative with 3,200 members who operate dairy farms in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. Additionally, the company operates 12 milk processing facilities in the Midwest. The Blair facility receives approximately 60 milk deliveries daily.

Associated Milk Producers Inc. has been inspected by OSHA three times in the last five years and has had eight state enforcement inspections. In 2006, the cooperative was cited for failing to ensure employees were protected from falls when accessing hatches on top of milk delivery trucks at its Plainview, Neb., facility. The eight other milk hauling companies, including Bechel Bros., previously had not been inspected by OSHA.

Agency rescinds Clinton-era directive and requires more safeguards against falls

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced in December a new directive withdrawing a former one that allowed residential builders to bypass some fall protection requirements. The directive being replaced, issued in 1995, initially was intended as a temporary policy and was the result of concerns about the feasibility of fall protection in residential building construction. However, there continues to be a high number of fall-related deaths in construction, and industry and OSHA feels that feasibility is no longer an issue or concern.

“Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace deaths in construction. We cannot tolerate workers getting killed in residential construction when effective means are readily available to prevent those deaths,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Almost every week, we see a worker killed from falling off a residential roof. We can stop these fatalities, and we must.”

The National Association of Home Builders recommended rescinding the 1995 directive, as did OSHA’s labor-management Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health; the AFL-CIO; and the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association, which represents the 27 states and territories that run their own occupational safety and health programs.

According to data from the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 40 workers are killed each year as a result of falls from residential roofs. One-third of those deaths represent Latino workers, who often lack sufficient access to safety information and protections. Latino workers comprise more than one-third of all construction employees.

OSHA’s action rescinds the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, Standard 03-00-001. Prior to the issuance of this new directive, Standard 03-00-001 allowed employers engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection rather than the conventional fall protection required by the residential construction fall protection standard. With the issuance of today’s new directive, all residential construction employers must comply with 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1926.501(b)(13). Where residential builders find that traditional fall protection is not feasible in residential environments, 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) still allows for alternative means of providing protection.

Construction and roofing companies will have up to six months to comply with the new directive. OSHA has developed training and compliance assistance materials for small employers and will host a webinar for parties interested in learning more about complying with the standard. To view the directive and for more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/doc/residential_fall_protection.html.

Read the Fedeeral Register notice at http://s.dol.gov/C9.

OSHA fines Texas Linen in Austin, Texas more than $126,000 for fall hazards and repeat violations

AUSTIN, Texas – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued Texas Linen Co. Ltd. five serious and 15 repeat citations following a safety and health inspection at the company’s facility in Austin. Proposed penalties total $126,400.

“This is not the first time this company has exposed its employees to workplace hazards,” said Casey Perkins, OSHA’s area director in Austin. “OSHA’s safety and health standards must be followed to prevent injuries and accidents.”

OSHA began its inspection June 10 at the company’s worksite on Smith Road and found employees operating a forklift without wearing a seat belt, as well as wet floors in passageways, aisles and laundry work areas.

OSHA issued serious citations alleging a failure to provide fall protection for employees working at an elevation of 16 feet; to provide an adequate number of locks and enforce lockout procedures during machine servicing to prevent injuries from unexpected re-start of machines and equipment; and to ensure a fiberglass ladder was set up and used correctly.

Repeat citations were issued alleging a failure to keep flooring dry; cover floor holes; provide machine guards for rotating parts, points of operation, and sprockets and chains; provide illuminated exit signs and clear exit access; provide properly identified locks for machine servicing; and provide working and easily accessible portable fire extinguishers. A repeat citation is issued when an employer previously has been cited 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.

In 2008, the company was fined more than $150,000 and cited for more than 40 safety and health violations at this same location, including a willful citation for not providing Hepatitis B vaccinations to employees within 10 days of being assigned to handle soiled health care linens.

OSHA has cited Cooper Tire & Rubber Company for combustible dust, flammable liquids, and fall hazards.

OSHA hit the Ohio manufacturer of automotive and truck tires with 10 alleged safety and health violations for failing to provide proper hazardous chemical protection to its workers, unnecessarily exposing them to fire and explosion hazards, and failing to provide fall protection from distances of more than 9 feet. Proposed penalties total $213,500.

“The lack of employee protection from fire, explosions and hazardous chemicals is completely unacceptable,” said Jule Hovi, OSHA’s area director in Toledo, Ohio. “OSHA is committed to ensuring workers have a safe and healthful workplace, and failing to follow proper safety and health procedures puts workers at unnecessary risk.”

Cooper Tire has been cited with two alleged willful violations for failing to protect workers from fire and explosion hazards by not providing fire suppression controls on processing equipment that contains explosive combustible dust, and failing to limit the accumulation of combustible dust on equipment and the building superstructure. The violations carry proposed fines of $140,000. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

The company also has been cited with six serious violations, with proposed fines of $38,500, for failing to assure flammable liquids were safety dispensed; ensure proper electrical tools were used in areas where flammable vapors and liquids were present; provide proper eye and face protection to workers handling flammable liquids; protect workers from electrical shock hazards; and train workers on combustible dust hazards. A serious citation is issued 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.

OSHA also has issued two repeat violations, with a proposed penalty of $35,000, for failing to provide workers with chemical protective equipment when exposed to contact with flammable liquids and to provide required fall protection. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously has been cited 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.