WASHINGTON – In 2014, almost 40 percent of all construction fatalities were fall related, and all of these deaths were preventable. That’s the key message the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration wants to deliver to employers and workers alike during its third annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls from May 2-6, 2016.

Employer’s names: Georgia Power Co.
ABB Inc.

Inspection site: 317 Covered Bridge Road, Cartersville, Georgia 30120

Citations issued: Citations were issued to the employers on April 26.

SALINA, Kan. – As they investigated unsafe working conditions at a Salina battery manufacturer, federal investigators initiated a second safety inspection after the company reported an unguarded machine partially amputated a 32-year-old worker’s left middle finger.

PHILADELPHIA – As the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration prepares for its annual National Safety Stand Down To Prevent Falls in Construction from May 2-6, agency officials in Philadelphia have only to look east to Cinnaminson, New Jersey, to find a serious reminder of why the event is so important – and necessary.

Employer name: Jay Management Inc.

Inspection site: 1060 Stuyvesant Ave., Irvington, New Jersey

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one willful citation under the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s general duty clause to Jay Management Inc. on April 25, 2016.

MASSILLON, Ohio – Federal inspectors conducting a monitoring inspection found workers still exposed to falls and machine hazards at a Massillon steel mill operated by Republic Steel, despite the company’s promise to address safety hazards at its U.S. steel manufacturing sites.

The company is one of the nation’s leading suppliers for steel used for axles, drive-train assemblies, suspension and other critical vehicle components, as well as industrial equipment. 

ROSE HILL, Kan. ‒ Safety guards may have prevented a metal bar from striking and killing a 24-year-old lathe operator at a Rose Hill industrial cleaning equipment manufacturer, federal investigators found.

LADYSMITH, Wis. ‒ A machine operator who suffered fatal injuries as he serviced a high-speed conveyor belt in a Ladysmith paper mill in October 2015 might still be alive if his employer had ensured that equipment was powered down and locked out before the 46-year-old man entered the hazardous area.

Employer name: Harcros Chemicals Inc.,
Kansas City, Kansas

Citations issued: April 19, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Employer name: General Electric, Circleville Lamp Plant, Circleville, Ohio

Citations issued: April 20, 2016

Employer name: Bobby Campbell Roofing Inc.

Inspection site: 558 Pullman Circle, St. Augustine, Florida 32084

Citations issued: Citations were issued to the employer on April 16.

Employer name: Sanoh America Inc., 1849 Industrial Dr., Findlay, Ohio                  

Citations issued: April 18, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Employer’s names: Stephens Plumbing Inc.

Inspection site: 2050 Eastern Blvd., Montgomery, Alabama 36117

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Just six months after citing a global equipment provider to the biopharma industry for exposing workers to hazardous levels of hexavalent chromium and potentially deafening noise as they welded and grinded stainless steel and other alloy steels, federal investigators found the company has failed to take steps to protect its workers at its Springfield facility.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. ‒ A 42-year-old laborer leak testing joints inside a 54-inch round pipe suffered fatal blunt force injuries in October 2015, when an inflatable “bladder” ruptured at a Springfield waste-water treatment plant. Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found his employer, Henderson Construction of Central Illinois Inc., failed to train him properly on the testing procedure.

Employer name: Premier Roofing Company LLC and Walter Construction LTD

Worksite: Multi-family housing re-roofing project in Denver

Citations issued: April 18, 2016

BEAR CREEK, Wis. – A Wisconsin food cannery faces $143,550 in federal penalties after a 35-year-old worker fell more than 17 feet into an empty sauerkraut vat and broke multiple bones. The inspection that followed was the fourth time since 2011 that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited GLK Foods LLC for failing to protect workers from fall and machine hazards.

BISMARCK, N.D. ‒ Two Bismarck companies have been cited by federal safety inspectors for failing to protect workers from fall hazards of up to 18 feet at a residential home construction site in the 4600 block of Greyhawk Lane in February.

Employer’s names: Owen-Ames-Kimball Co., and Stevens and Layton Inc.

Inspection site:  Intersection of Midway Blvd. and Edgewater Drive, Port Charlotte, Florida 33952

ELGIN, Ill. ‒ Despite the fact that preventable falls account for nearly 40 percent of all deaths in the construction industry, some employers continue to ignore the dangers and put their workers at serious risk.