A worker was fatally injured on August 26 at an Aurora-based Milling plant in Aurora, Missouri which is owned by MFA, Inc. Following the tragedy, OSHA inspected the facility and found 13 serious violations, including several relating to the death of the employee. OSHA has proposed fines in the amount of $91,000.

“This was a terrible, preventable tragedy that underscores the importance of OSHA’s standards. Employers are required to use equipment in accordance with manufacturer’s specifications,” said Barbara Theriot, OSHA’s area director in Kansas City, Mo. “Employers are responsible for identifying hazards, providing safety precautions such as guard rails and ensuring workers follow proper procedures to prevent injury or death.”

The 13 serious violations include: failing to guard open-sided floors throughout the plant with varying fall distances up to 20 feet; inadequate footing space on industrial ladders creating fall distances up to 125 feet; failing to inspect man lifts every 30 days; failing to have guarded belts and pulleys on machinery; failing to use proper connectors, thus exposing workers to electrical conductors on motors; failing to have two exit doors; obstructed exits; unmarked and poorly lighted exit routes; and failing to have an alarm system to warn workers of fires and other emergencies.

All of these citations would have been easy to correct and could have saved an employee’s life. And the cost to fix these issues would have been virtually nothing. That is why it is important to have a qualified occupational safety and health auditing firm inspect your facility on a regular basis. A simply third party safety audit would have uncovered these problems in a matter of hours.

If you have any questions about third party safety audits, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the importance of third party safety audits, please leave a comment.