OSHA began its investigation of the warehouse at 591 E. 56th Ave. in January and . Nidi Tec, an Anaheim, Calif.-based natural stone products importer and distributor, has until Aug. 10 to abate the violations. It must pay the fine or contest the citations by July 27.
OSHA investigations can cite employers for violations of workplace health and safety standards. Fine amounts are fixed and are not intended to represent an amount equal to the value of a lost life, spokesman Juan Rodriguez said.
A customer service representative contacted at the Denver warehouse said Nidi Tec had no comment. Calls to the company’s owner in California were not returned. Rodriguez said OSHA has not yet received a response from the company.
Nidi Tec was cited for two willful violations: exceeding the fork truck’s weight limit when lifting granite slabs, and modifying the fork truck by using granite pieces as a counter weight. The “willful” designation means Nidi Tec either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or acted with plain indifference to its employees’ safety.
OSHA’s complaint included two repeat violations, for modifications to the fork lift without manufacturer approval and for using wire rope slings not properly labelled with lifting capacities. The previous citations .
Inspectors also issued seven serious violations, including those that could cause an accident that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm. The violations were:
- Not protecting workers from crushing hazards;
- Storing granite slabs in a way that created a hazard;
- Storing propane fuel used for the fork trucks improperly
- Failing to train employees properly in the operation of fork trucks;
- Not inspecting fork trucks prior to operation;
- Using defective wire rope slings to lift granite slabs;
- Lacking a hazard communication program.
“Handling of granite slabs is a well-known hazard in the industry, yet Nidi Tec did not take simple measures which could have avoided a tragedy and an employee’s preventable death,” Herb Gibson, OSHA’s area director in Denver, said in a statement. “Crushing incidents can happen quickly and employers need to evaluate material handling operations.”
