An OSHA investigation has determined that Foley Products Company LLC could have prevented the death of a 19-year-old worker. The employee, who worked at the concrete pipe manufacturer’s Cantonment, Florida, plant, climbed inside a concrete mixer with a coworker to chip away at the hardened concrete. When the other worker left the mixer, the machine accidentally restarted. Investigators from the agency cited Foley Products Company for willfully exposing workers to crushed-by hazards, exposing workers to confined spaces hazards, and failing to have an attendant ready to retrieve workers safely. The company has been cited for one willful violation and six serious violations and faces $245,546 in penalties.
In a recent quote, OSHA Area Office Director Jose A. Gonzalez said, “Foley Products Company’s failure to implement well-known safeguards cost the life of a worker just beginning their adulthood. This preventable tragedy should serve as a reminder of the importance of complying with safety and health standards, as required by law.”