OSHA cites Central Transport again for forklift, fall hazards

HILLSIDE, Ill. — Central Transport LLC has been cited for 16 safety and health violations, including five repeat, one willful and two serious safety violations, at its trucking terminal in Hillside. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found repeat and willful violations that involved defective powered industrial vehicles and lack of fall protection. Proposed penalties total $145,420.

"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."

OSHA opened the March 28, 2014, inspection in response to a complaint. The inspection included an evaluation of forklift use, as required by the Local Emphasis Program for Powered Industrial Vehicles. This LEP was implemented to reduce fatalities and injuries caused by these vehicles, which have been the source of 105 occupational fatalities during fiscal years 2005 through 2013 in Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio.

OSHA issued one willful violation for failing to remove forklifts from service that needed repair. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

Five repeat violations were issued and included failure to have platform guardrails in place on platforms, which exposed workers to falls of more than four feet, and maintain terminal dock and bay floors clean and dry. Additionally, the company failed to train workers on chemical hazards before assigning them to work with the substances, did not provide eye-drenching facilities for areas where corrosive chemicals were in use and failed to maintain the yard and terminal roadway free of potholes and hazards.

In September, the company was cited for similar violations at its Rock Island terminal that involved defective powered industrial vehicles and lack of fall protection, with proposed penalties of $108,020. The company has contested those violations.

Central Transport was cited in 2009, 2010 and 2013 at locations in Georgia, Ohio and Mississippi for similar violations. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

Two serious violations were issued for failing to have handrails on stairs with four or more risers, not installing slip-resistant treads on stairs and failing to guard the floor opening on a pit to prevent falls. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

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

Central Transport based in Warren, Michigan, employs about 4,300 workers at 170 locations nationwide. The Hillside terminal has about 100 employees.

The company has contested the findings and will appear before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Chicago North Office at 847-803-4800.

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.