OSHA has fined Tower King II Inc. $12,934 for the death of three workers who were attempting to install a new antenna on a communications tower in Miami. This is the maximum fine for one serious citation. OSHA has no standard specifically targeted to cell tower worker safety and used the General Duty Clause, which requires employers to maintain a safe workplace and is used when there are no relevant OSHA standards.
Even with the proper precautions like flashback arrestors, exhaust hoods for fumes and gases, or fire extinguishers, welding carries a lot of risk. Needless to say, a good pair of gloves are as important to a welder as a welding hood – or at least they should be.
A group of U.S. senators are hoping that the 16th attempt will be the charm for legislation that would include more workers in federally mandated protections, increase OSHA civil penalties and toughen criminal penalties for unsafe employers.
Employees who drive for work face significant roadway risks, and motor vehicle crashes can devastate families, communities, and organizations. Crashes are the leading cause of workplace fatalities, with 1,252 deaths of vehicle drivers and passengers on public roads in 2016. In 2013, on-the-job crashes cost employers over $25 billion and led to 155,000 lost work days. Despite the human and financial costs of crashes, only 24 percent of employers offer occupational health services as part of their wellness programs.
Two mining fatalities in mid-March show how dangerous the industry can be even for experienced workers who are aware of the hazards involved.
On March 14, 2018, a 56-year old crusher maintenance worker was killed while installing discharge chutes on the screen deck. The man – who had 15 years’ experience - sustained a traumatic head injury when a suspended chute shifted and struck him.
A Texas-based contractor faces $12,934 in proposed penalties after three of its employees suffered fatal injuries while attempting to install a new antenna on a communications tower in Miami. That total corresponds to $4,311 per worker.
The incident involving Tower King II Inc. occurred in a Miami suburb on Sept. 27, 2017.
They won’t be getting an increase, but federal worker safety agencies will not, at least, see the slashes in funding that some were predicting. The FY 2018 budget passed by Congress recently maintains funding for OSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) at 2017 levels.
Sturdy new fiberglass railing were installed in a New York City subway tunnel last week - the day after one collapsed, sending a worker to his death.
Killed in the nine foot fall from a local track to an express track was 23-year-old St. Clair Zaire Stephens Richards, who had six months on the job, according to news reports.
When the pedestrian bridge collapsed last week in Florida, workers were adjusting tension on the two tensioning rods located in the diagonal member at the north end of the span. That’s one of the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team that is investigating the incident, which crushed cars and killed at least six people - one of them a bridge worker.
A floor hand was caught between a pipe handling catwalk machine and a stanchion post on the drill floor of a dynamically positioned drillship. The operation at the time of the incident was picking up pipe from the pipe handling catwalk machine, making up at the rotary table, and running in the hole.
