OSHA Fines Central Transport $145K for Forklift, Fall Hazards

According to a press release from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the agency has once again fined Central Transport LLC for safety and health violations.

OSHA says the company has been cited for “16 health and safety violations, including five report and one willful, and two serious safety violations.”

The citations total $145,420.

In March 2014, OSHA investigated Central Transport LLC.  The inspection included an evaluation of forklift use.

During the investigation, OSHA issued one willful violation for failing to remove forklifts from service that needed repair.  According to OSHA, a willful violation is “one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary regard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.”

In addition, OSHA issued five repeat violations, including failure to provide platform guard rails, failure to train employees on chemical hazards, not providing eye-drenching facilities in areas where corrosive chemicals were being used and failure to maintain the yard and terminal roadway to keep them free of potholes and hazards.

“Central Transport has been repeatedly cited for unsafe conditions and equipment,” said Angeline Loftus, OSHA’s area director for the Chicago North Office in Des Plaines. “Companies that repeatedly violate basic safety standards consistently put their employees at risk of serious injury and death.”

In September, OSHA issued similat violations at the company’s Rock Island terminal, including “defective powered industrial vehicles and lack of fall protection, with proposed penalties of $108,020. The company has contested those violations.”

Additionally, the company was cited in 2009, 2010 and 2013 at terminal locations in Georgia, Ohio and Mississippi, OSHA states.

To view the citations, visit http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/CentralTransportLLC_966185.pdf*.

Central Transport is based in Warren, Michigan. The company employs 4,300 workers in 170 locations.

Central Transport has contested OSHA’s finding and will appear before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

From OSHA:

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.