Advancedsafety

$365,500 in Proposed Fines for Repeat Violations OSHA has cited Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for a total of 24 alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace safety and health standards at its supercenter store No. 2859 in Rochester, NY. The Arkansas based retailer faces a total of $365,500 in proposed fines following inspections conducted by OSHA’s Buffalo Area Office initiated in response to a complaint. “The sizable fines proposed here reflect not only the seriousness of these conditions... Read Full Story

Put Safety First for Your Children What is the leading cause of unintentional injury to children under 14?  What do kids playing by windows, jumping on beds, and sitting in shopping carts have in common? If you answered “falls”, you are right.  Most falls happen to children in the home and to those under the age of three.  The victims of falls from furniture, stairs, and baby walkers are usually toddlers and young children. Boys are two times more likely than girls to die from injuries... Read Full Story

Is Fall protection Required While Working from a Portable Stepladder? Scenario:  You are the safety director for a construction company. You have a worker who must perform a job from a 12 foot stepladder.  He needs to spend quite a bit of time on the ladder with his feet about 8 feet off the ground, but will not be standing on the top or top step of the ladder.  Your boss sees the activity while visiting the site.  He asks you if what is observed is a violation of the OSHA standard and... Read Full Story

Compressed Gas Association Issues Safety Alert Due to recent incidents caused by incorrectly installed or poorly maintained carbonated beverage systems, the Compressed Gas Association, Inc. has issued a safety alert.  Faulty systems can cause carbon dioxide to leak and hazardous levels of the gas to build up in enclosed areas leading to illnesses or even deaths to restaurant customers and workers and to emergency responders.  Carbon dioxide is used in numerous workplaces and has been... Read Full Story

Repeated Violations Lead to Proposed Fines of $169K OSHA proposed a total of $169,000 in fines against contractor Penney Construction Co. LLC in Hartford, CT chiefly for exposing its workers to cave-in hazards while repairing a sewer line in a 10-foot-deep trench on Park Street. An inspection by OSHA’s Hartford Area Office found that not only did the trench lack any protection to prevent the walls from collapsing onto workers; the cave-in hazard was intensified by the presence of an... Read Full Story

$318,000 in Proposed Fines Jennie-O Turkey Store Inc. was cited by OSHA for 11 safety violations after a worker’s arm was amputated below the shoulder while the individual was conducting cleaning activities in a confined space. Jennie-O Turkey Store, based in Willmar, MN is a division of Austin, MN headquartered Hormel Foods Corp. “Jennie-O Turkey Store has a legal responsibility to follow established permit-required confined space regulations to ensure that its employees are properly... Read Full Story

More than $1 Million in Back Wages and Damages to be Paid OSHA has ordered AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of Dallas, Texas-based Southwest Airlines Co., to reinstate a former pilot who was fired after reporting numerous mechanical concerns. The agency also has ordered that the pilot be paid more than $1 million in back wages plus interest and compensatory damages. An investigation by OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program found reasonable cause to believe that the termination was an act of... Read Full Story

OSHA to Order Company to Comply with Safety Standards The U.S. Department of Labor’s regional solicitor’s office in Boston has filed a complaint against DeMoulas Super Markets Inc., doing business as Market Basket, with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The complaint asks the commission to order the Tewksbury, Mass.-based chain to comply with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s safety standards designed to protect employees from fall and... Read Full Story

Workers Exposed to Excessive Noise, Lack of Machine Guarding, and Other Hazards OSHA cited American Marazzi Tile Inc. with 25 safety and health violations for exposing workers to excessive noise levels, machine guarding hazards, and other dangerous conditions at its facility in Sunnyvale, TX. Proposed penalties total $318,000. OSHA’s Dallas Area Office initiated an investigation on July 13 at the company’s Clay Road facility as part of the agency’s Site-Specific Targeting Program, which... Read Full Story

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced its selection of 10 OSHA authorized training providers to deliver 25 online courses as part of its Outreach Training Program. The OSHA Outreach Training Program teaches workers how to identify, prevent, and eliminate workplace hazards. The program also informs workers of their rights, employer responsibilities, and how to file a complaint. “We are pleased to announce the selection of these online training providers,” said Assistant... Read Full Story