Another company in Colorado has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company, Ifco Systems, received one repeat citation and five serious citations with fines that total over $65,000.
OSHA inspected the company’s recycling facility in an effort to target companies with higher rates of on-the-job injuries. Apparently Ifco falls in that category, though injury statistics were not included in the online press release.
According to OSHA’s Denver area director, the citations were issued because the employer failed to implement effective systems that could identify hazards at the facility. If those systems are in place, employers would likely see a decrease in the number of injuries that occur in the workplace.
Ifco was cited for not properly guarding a bandsaw machine; without the guards there is a greater risk of amputation. This particular citation was a repeat citation, meaning that Ifco had already received a citation from OSHA for not having the proper guards in place. Similar citations had been issued in three other facilities that Ifco owns.
The other citations that Ifco received were issued because OSHA determined that there was a “substantial probability that death or serious physical harm” to employees. The citations stated that Ifco failed to:
- Protect workers from excessive levels of noise
- Guard a table saw
- Guard open-sided floors
- Develop lockout procedures
Ultimately when companies fail to provide safe work environments for their employees, the employee is the person who suffers the most. Losing a limb, whether it is from a crush injury or an amputation, can prevent a person from being able to a job they had been able to perform prior to the injury.
Source: OSHA News Release online, “US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Ifco Systems pallet recycling facility,” 03 March 2011
