PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island concrete supplier was cited by the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration Wednesday for safety and health violations following a worker fatality last year.
The citation stems from an incident at Greenville Ready Mix Concrete Products Inc. in Smithfield after a worker suffered fatal injuries while repairing a cement truck on Oct. 21, 2021. Following its federal investigation, OSHA determined that as the worker installed a fabricated plate onto the chute into the drum on the cement truck, the drum began to turn, and the mixing fins inside the drum caught the worker’s head and caused fatal injuries.
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OSHA found the company did not establish a lockout/tagout program to prevent the cement truck drum from operating while employees serviced or maintained it, and also did not train employees in lockout/tagout procedures or conduct periodic inspections to ensure proper procedures were followed.
OSHA has proposed a penalty of $43,506 for six safety and health violations by Greenville Ready Mix Concrete Products, which also included the company not evaluating the workplace for permit-required confined spaces, such as inside cement truck drums; failing to provide and ensure that employees used fall protection while working on cement truck platforms; and exposing workers to both silica dust and rotating drums and augers.
“This tragedy highlights the dangers of not ensuring lockout/tagout procedures are implemented before workers begin servicing machinery,” OSHA Area Director Robert Sestito said in a statement. “Complying with OSHA standards is not optional. Employers have an obligation to abate all hazards to protect the safety and health of their workers.”
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
