A Kentucky company was cited with federal safety citations last week after one of its workers was killed in a fall while working at a UPS facility in Addison, Illinois.
The company, Materials Handling Systems/MHS Technical Services, had been cited four months earlier for failing to provide workers with fall protection at the very same facility where the fatal accident occurred, according to officials from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Company Failed to Make Corrections
On Feb. 9, Matt Cienkus, 42, of Lansing, Illinois, was dismantling an existing conveyor system as part of a multi-million contract to replace high-speed conveyors at the UPS package handling facility when he fell 22 feet to his death, according to news reports.
OSHA investigators determined that Material Handling Systems/MHS Technical Systems had been cited four months prior to the accident for fall protection violations at the same job site, according to Dr. David Michaels, assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA.
“A man is dead because this employer decided to break the law over and over again,” Michaels said in an OSHA news release. “Before this tragedy, OSHA cited this contractor twice for exposing workers to fall hazards, including the same site just four months earlier.”
Facing $320,400 in Fines
After the February fatal accident, OSHA cited Material Handling Systems/MHS Technical Systems again, this time for three egregious willful violations for exposing workers to falls higher than six feet, as well as three repeated and three serious safety violations.
Investigators determined that the company exposed workers to falls of up to 22 feet as they hoisted conveyor equipment while working on raised surfaces with unprotected sides. They also failed to determine whether walking and working surfaces could structurally support employees.
The company also allowed workers to use a combustible polyethylene tarp as a welding curtain, creating a serious fire hazard, according to OSHA investigators.
A History of Violations
Besides the fall protection violations found in October 2015 at the Addison UPS job site, OSHA also cited Material Handling Systems/MHS Technical Systems in 2014 for similar violations after an employee was seriously injured in a fall at a job site in Keasby, New Jersey.
The company also was cited for similar violations in Oregon in 2009 and in Florida in 2012, according to OSHA.
“OSHA is asking companies contracting with Material Handling Systems to take strong steps to ensure that this employer protects its employees, and terminate its contracts if this employer continues to violate OSHA regulations,” Michaels said. “Material Handling Systems employer must demonstrate it can work safely and stop injuring its employees.”
Falls continue to be the leading cause of death in the US construction industry, accounting for 337 fatalities in 2014, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about 40 percent of all the deaths in the construction industry.
OSHA has launched an ongoing fall prevention campaign called Stop Falls to promote workplace safety and reduce the number of injuries and death caused by falls.