US Department of Labor urges employers to enhance workplace safety
measures, protect workers from crane hazards following fatality.
OSHA to conduct inspections at ports, construction sites and locations where cranes are used
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is urging employers to enhance safety measures to protect workers against crane hazards following a crane-related death. The incident is currently under investigation.
The most common crane hazards leading to serious injuries and fatalities include crane tip-overs, being struck by a crane, electrocutions, being caught in between a crane and other equipment or objects, falls from the equipment and unqualified operators.
In workplaces where cranes are operating, OSHA recommends the following safety measures:
Use your experience, knowledge and training to assess risks and follow crane procedures.
Do not operate a crane or hoist that is damaged or has any actual or suspected mechanical or electrical malfunction.
Do not attempt to lengthen wire rope or repair damaged wire rope.
Do not use the wire rope, any part of the crane, hoist, or the load block and hook as a ground for welding.
Do not allow a welding electrode to touch the wire rope.
Do not remove or obscure any warning labels on the crane or hoist.
Do not walk under a suspended load or allow anyone to walk under a suspended load.
Do not perform or allow anyone to perform any work on a suspended load that requires a worker to be positioned under the suspended load
Always use personal protective equipment, such as gloves, hard hats, hearing, foot and eye protection.
"Injuries and fatalities related to crane operations are preventable with adequate workplace training and proper attention to safety controls," said OSHA Area Director. "Employers need to take all necessary steps to reduce incidents involving crane operations and improve the workplace safety where cranes are in use."
As part of this crane safety initiative, OSHA compliance officers will conduct inspections at ports, construction sites and other locations where cranes are in use. The agency will also conduct outreach activities, on-site consultations and promote partnerships and alliances to improve compliance and prevent injuries and fatalities.
Administrative law judge upholds OSHA citations and penalties
to telecommunications contractor in employee's death
This employer failed to provide workers with necessary training and equipment
An administrative law judge with the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has affirmed U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations and $24,290 in penalties issued to a telecommunications contractor, following the death of an employee.
In 2020 a company work crew was lashing fiber optic cable to a support strand between a series of utility poles when the lashing machine malfunctioned. The crew did not have a ladder or other appropriate tools with them to reach the machine. Instead, in an effort to fix the machine, the foreman went out onto the strand, using his climbing belt as a seat as he advanced hand over hand down the line. Midway back to the pole, he lost his grip on the wire, the climbing belt slid up his back and cinched at the neck and he was asphyxiated as he hung suspended from the climbing belt.
OSHA investigated and cited the telecommunication company on June 10, 2020, for serious violations for failing to provide the employees with required safeguards, including effective training and personal protective equipment. The employer contested the citations and penalties to the review commission on July 1, 2020. The U.S. Department of Labor's Office litigated the case for OSHA, deposing multiple witnesses during pretrial discovery, amending OSHA's citations and developing a detailed trial record on which the judge based his decision. Following an April 2022 trial, the judge, issued a decision upholding OSHA's amended citations and penalties on October 31, 2022. The decision became a final order of the review commission on December 16, 2022.
"It is vital that employers properly train employees and provide them with effective personal protective equipment so they can perform their work safely and return home at the end of each workday. Failure to do so can have life-threatening consequences for workers," said OSHA Regional Administrator.
Federal workplace safety investigation finds a vehicle parts maker
ignored workers’ concerns; yields more than a dozen serious citations
Parts supplier, faces $298K in fines
A federal workplace safety investigation found that a vehicle parts manufacturer ignored repeated concerns raised by workers, and willfully exposed them to hazards related to unsafe machine operations, potential falls and a lack of personal protective equipment.
An inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that began in June 2022 identified one willful violation for failing to control hazardous energy to prevent sudden machine startups. The agency also issued more than a dozen serious citations for the company’s failures to follow required machine safety procedures; provide procedures for safe entry into permit required confined spaces; prevent workers’ exposure to slips, trips and fall hazards; provide workers with required safety equipment; and provide procedures for safe crane operations.
OSHA has proposed $298,338 in penalties for the company.
“OSHA found that – despite concerns voiced by its workers – this employer ignored serious safety issues, putting its workers at risk,” said OSHA Area Director. “The company must act quickly to comply with federal safety standards before an employee suffers serious injury or worse.”
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.
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OSHA News by YDE Safety
US Department of Labor again cites a roofing contractor
for exposing unprotected workers to deadly fall hazards
Federal safety inspectors found the owner of a roofing company exposing roofers and other workers to the construction industry’s leading cause of death – falls from elevation – by failing to provide them with fall protection equipment and hazard training.
This company as well as the owner now face $300,144 in penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector observed eight employees working at heights up to 20 feet without fall protection while atop a residence.
Following the June inspection, the agency cited the contractor for five violations – three willful, one repeat and one serious – for exposing workers to fall hazards, failing to use ladders correctly, lacking an accident prevention program, failing to provide training on ladder usage and fall hazards, and failing to provide eye protection.
This roofing company shows a callous disregard for the safety and well-being of its workers and continues to expose them to the risks of serious, debilitating and potentially fatal fall injuries, said OSHA Area Director. "This employer, and others who continually put people in jeopardy can face our full legal powers to hold them accountable."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1,008 construction workers died on the job in 2020, with 351 of those fatalities related to falls from elevation.
OSHA’s stop falls website offers safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish to teach workers about fall hazards and proper safety procedures.
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.
US Department of Labor finds manufacturer exposed workers to machine hazards
OSHA cites a fabrication company for 12 violations, proposes $250K in fines
Federal safety inspectors have determined that a falling load from a below-the-hook magnet crushed the leg of an employee at a heavy fabrication manufacturing company on June 7, 2022.
In response to a hospitalization report, investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workers were exposed to an unguarded machine point of operation that did not prevent workers from having their hand in the danger zone while straightening parts.
This company is taking this incident seriously. During OSHA's inspection, the company's safety representatives documented issues to improve their procedures and ensure compliance. Manufacturers must constantly review their safety procedures and equipment to ensure all points of operations are guarded, equipment is in safe working condition and workers are trained to recognize hazards.
OSHA's machine guarding and control of hazardous energy webpages provide information on what employers must do to limit worker exposure to machine hazards.
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.
OSHA News Release
US Department of Labor finds safety, training failures during investigation, double fatality at industrial loading facility
Two workers fatally buried when coal pile shifts
A federal workplace safety investigation into the deaths of two workers buried under a pile of shifting coal in June 2022 found that their employer failed to follow required federal standards and did not train workers on safety processes.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned that, as three employees of climbed onto the coal pile to determine if the feeder below was receiving coal, the pile shifted. The falling coal fatally buried two workers and the third employee was able to escape without injury.
OSHA issued citations for one serious violation and two willful violations for failing to implement safe work practices and for not training workers as required. The company faces $304,556 in proposed penalties.
In a similar incident in December 2020, a coal pile collapsed onto a bulldozer and trapping an employee inside the machine until their rescue an hour later.
"A near-tragedy at another facility in 2020 made the company acutely aware of the serious hazards for those working around coal piles and yet, two workers’ families, friends and co-workers are now left to grieve," said OSHA Area Director. "With legally required standard safety practices in place and training provided, the company could have prevented this terrible incident."
Visit OSHA’s website for information on developing a workplace safety and health program. Employers can also contact the agency about OSHA’s compliance assistance resources and its free help for complying with OSHA standards.
OSHA News December 2022
Investigation into two workers' deaths finds that contractor failed to test oxygen level in confined space, provide rescue equipment
After one employee passed out, second worker attempts rescue; both suffered fatal injuries.
Federal workplace safety investigators have determined that a construction contractor failed to test oxygen levels in the confined space before two workers entered a sewer 20 feet below ground at a work site and died because of a lack of oxygen.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration into the June 14, 2022, incident found that an employee of the same construction company had climbed into a newly installed sewer manhole to conduct testing when they lost consciousness. Trying to rescue the worker, a second employee followed into the manhole and lost consciousness. Both workers later succumbed to their injuries.
OSHA investigators determined the company did not complete required planning before allowing workers to enter the space. In pre-entry planning, a confined space must be tested for safety, including finding out if ventilation is needed. The company also failed to provide rescue equipment and did not train workers on confined space entry procedures or obtain permits required by federal law.
OSHA cited the company for six serious and two willful violations and proposed $287,150 in penalties.
"Two lives were lost – and family, friends and co-workers are left to grieve – because this company failed to follow legally required steps designed to prevent a needless incident like this from happening.
Employers assigning people to work inside a confined space must comply with safety standards, including providing and ensuring the use of required safety equipment, and obtain all necessary permits before the job starts to avoid tragedy.
In July 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that – from 2011 to 2018 – 1,030 workers died in confined space incidents, 61 of them in sewers, manholes and storm drains.
Visit OSHA's website for information on developing a workplace safety and health program. Employers can also contact the agency about OSHA's compliance assistance resources and its free help for complying with OSHA standards.
US Department of Labor cites framing contractor who ignored OSHA's
safety hazard notification, directed workers onto roof without fall protection.
While federal workplace safety inspectors are used to some employers' disregard for workplace safety, the response of an area carpentry company's site supervisor to a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector's notification at the site about workers without fall protection exposed to the construction industry's most lethal hazard – falls from elevation – was especially blatant.
"The show must go on," said the site supervisor – before directing employees to keep setting joists at heights up to 48 feet atop a multi-unit residential building. When the general contractor became aware of the condition, the workers were removed from the roof.
Following its investigation, OSHA cited the framing contractor for one willful violation and four serious safety violations, and proposed penalties of $77,072. In addition to identifying violations for lack of fall protection, OSHA cited the company for a lack of guardrails on window openings, misusing ladders and exposing workers to unprotected rebar.
"the company ignored an OSHA compliance officer's identification of hazards that could result in death, and company officials told the workers to continue while at risk of severe and possibly fatal fall injuries," said OSHA's Director. "Allowing employees to work at dangerous heights without providing fall protection equipment is inexcusable. OSHA will continue to hold employers accountable when they fail to provide safe working conditions."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1,008 construction workers died on the job in 2020, with 351 of those fatalities related to falls from elevation.
OSHA's stop falls website offers safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish to teach workers about hazards and proper safety procedures.
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.
Company repeatedly failing to comply with OSHA guideline, found negligent of exposing employees.
A framing contractor faces $269,594 in proposed penalties after the company was again found exposing employees to deadly fall hazards at a residential worksite on April 21, 2022.
OSHA inspected the site after a report that the company was exposing workers to fall hazards while conducting framing work in a residential structure. Inspectors observed workers on the building’s second and third levels working near floor holes and the edge of the building without fall protection, exposing them to falls up to 22 feet.
OSHA cited the company for three serious and six repeat violations for not providing fall protection and protective eyewear while using air-powered nail guns, failing to train employees as required and allowing improper use of ladders. The company was issued proposed penalties of $269,594.
