OSHA fines Goffstown firm $82k

A Goffstown landscaping firm faces a total of $82,500 in fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration stemming from a March 24 accident in which one of its workers lost his foot.

According to OSHA, an employee of Landscape Support Services Inc. was cleaning the interior of a trailer when his foot became caught in a moving conveyor used to unload material from the truck. OSHA’s inspection found that the conveyor had not been shut down and its power source locked out before the employees started cleaning, the agency said.

“The conveyor should not have been operating while employees worked inside the trailer,” said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA’s New Hampshire area director. “The requirements that the conveyor be shut down and its power source locked out are designed to prevent just this type of accident, serious injury or worse.”

OSHA issued to Landscape Support Services Inc. two citations carrying $75,000 in fines for failing to shut down the conveyor and for not having lockout hardware available.

The company also was given six serious citations with $7,500 in proposed penalties for lack of specific lockout/tagout procedures, lack of employee training and annual lockout/tagout audits; failure to train employees to operate powered industrial trucks safely; failure to evaluate and identify confined spaces and post warnings; and having fall hazards of more than 8 feet from unguarded work areas.

The firm was given 15 business days to contest the citations. – JEFF FEINGOLD