Workers exposed to multiple safety and health hazards at boiler manufacturer

Employer name: Superior Holding, Inc., operating as Superior Boiler Works Inc., Hutchinson, Kansas

Citations issued: Aug. 4, 2015.

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Wichita area office issued one repeat and 16 serious safety violations to the industrial boiler manufacturer. The violations include:

• Not providing machine guarding to protect workers from moving machinery. The company was previously cited for this violation in 2012 at the same facility.
• Exposing workers to falls of up to 13 feet due to unguarded open-sided floors or platforms.
• Struck-by hazards from overhead cranes.
• Lack of personal protective equipment.
• Electrical safety hazards.
• Failing to implement a written program for respiratory protection.
• Fire hazards
• Failing to implement a program for permit required confined spaces

Proposed penalties: $60,060

Quote: "OSHA found workers at Superior Holding were exposed to various hazards including amputation and falls. The company needs to evaluate its safety and health programs and make immediate improvements to protect workers on the job," said Judy Freeman, OSHA's area director in Wichita.

Link to citations:

• http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20151532afs.pdf
• http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20151532bfs.pdf

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, 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 Wichita Area Office at 316-269-6644.