After 541 Fatalities, New Mechanical Safety Handbook Released
- Germany’s Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has published new sections of its hazard-assessment handbook targeting mechanical hazards, which cause three-quarters of all workplace injuries, following a year in when 541 workers died on the job, resulting in 700 million days of lost work and an estimated 85 billion euros in lost production.
- The handbook breaks mechanical hazards into categories including controlled and uncontrolled moving parts, dangerous surfaces, transport risks, and fall/trip hazards, and sets specific technical standards for stacking storage and slip-resistance classifications for flooring.
- Internal transport, particularly forklift accidents, was identified as the biggest danger zone, with an average of 18,500 reportable forklift accidents occurring annually between 2012 and 2023. The handbook now mandates annual vehicle inspections, back-up alarms, tip-over guards and motion limiters.
- The guidance also addresses new electrical hazards from high-voltage electric vehicle repairs, requiring such work to be performed only by qualified electrical specialists.
OSHA proposes nearly $300K in fines after worker killed at Converse Elementary School
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing nearly $300,000 in fines against Texas contractor D L Bandy Constructors Inc. and staffing company Pacesetters Personnel Services following the Jan. 7 death of a worker who was killed while operating a mini excavator in a crawl space beneath San Antonio, Texas school.
- OSHA cited D L Bandy for one willful violation for removing the excavator’s rollover protective structures and modifying the equipment to fit the low-clearance crawl space. The company also received 15 serious violations for failing to identify the crawl space as a permit-required confined space and failing to test air quality, provide ventilation, train workers, assign confined space personnel, or establish entry and rescue procedures.
- Pacesetters, which supplied temporary workers, was cited for two serious violations for failing to ensure confined space procedures were followed and failing to train temporary workers.
- OSHA is proposing $276,399 in penalties against D L Bandy Constructors and $23,170 against Pacesetters Personnel Services, for a combined total of $299,569; the companies have 15 business days to correct the violations, request an informal conference, or contest the citations before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Worker dies after transformer incident at Granite City steel plant
- A 62-year-old steelworker from Bridgeton, Missouri, died after being electrocuted early Saturday while attempting to shut off a malfunctioning transformer during a storm at U.S. Steel Granite City Works in Illinois.
- He was working with two other employees on the transformer when the incident occurred. The worker was pronounced dead at 6:20 a.m. after lifesaving efforts by the Granite City Fire Department.
- U.S. Steel spokesperson Andrew Fulton confirmed the death occurred at the cold-rolled mill on the finishing side of the facility, said no other employees were injured, and stated the company is cooperating fully with all investigations.
- The case remains under investigation by the Granite City Police Department and the Madison County Coroner’s Office, with the cause of death listed as preliminary pending toxicology testing.