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Oklahoma Manufacturer to Pay $500,000 for OSHA Violations

Posted on 4/28/2017 by Roger Marks

A trailer and truck bed manufacturing facility in Oklahoma will pay more than half a million dollars ($535,411) for two dozen workplace safety violations, according to an OSHA citation issued earlier this year.

OSHA uncovered a wide range of safety violations during a 2016 inspection, including, but not limited to:
  • Walking/working surfaces violations
  • Electrical safety violations
  • Chemical labeling violations (i.e., Hazard Communication, or HazCom)
  • Forklift inspection and operation violations
  • Lockout/tagout violations, including failure to provide lockout/tagout training
  • Machine guarding violations
This OSHA enforcement action illustrates how seriously inspectors take work safety violations. Workplace injury and illnesses cost US businesses about $1 billion per week in lost time, workers compensation, and recordkeeping costs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And that’s before factoring in OSHA civil or criminal penalties.

Under Section 17 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, or OSH Act, any employer who fails to protect employees’ safety and health is subject to costly fines. OSHA last year raised its penalty amounts for the first time in 20 years, making noncompliance more expensive than ever.

For guidance on how to handle OSHA citations, read our 2016 feature After the Inspection: Guide to OSHA Violations.


New OSHA Walking/Working Surfaces Rules

One of the many OSHA standards this employer was fined for violating is OSHA’s Walking-Working Surfaces Standard, which contains requirements aimed at prevention slips, trips, and falls on the job. In 2016, OSHA issued a 500-page Final Rule to overhaul general industry employers’ responsibilities for protecting employees who face these hazards from floors, ladders, stairways, runways, dockboards, roofs, scaffolds, elevated work surfaces, walkways, and more.

These new requirements took effect on January 17, 2017. To learn more about the updated OSHA walking-working surfaces rules, join an expert Lion instructor for the live OSHA Walking & Working Surfaces Final Rule Webinar on April 25, July 19, or September 13. 


Effective Online OSHA Safety Training

Protect your employees with expertly designed, convenient OSHA training. Available 24/7, these interactive OSHA safety training courses help employees identify, mitigate, and avoid the hazards in your workplace. Employees who complete OSHA training at Lion.com are ready to make on-the-job decisions that keep themselves and their co-workers safe.

Popular OSHA Training Courses in 2017:
8-Hour HAZWOPER Refresher (Cleanup operations)
New! Lockout/Tagout Online
New! Confined Space Entry Awareness Online
GHS Hazard Communication (for Employees)
Managing GHS Hazard Communication (for Managers)
Lithium Battery Safety Online
Forklift Safety Online

For OSHA 10-hour training to protect employees in general industry workplaces, take the newly updated 10 Hour OSHA General Industry Online Course.
 

Tags: and, fines, osha, penalties

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