OSHA Inspection: ELITE LOGISTICS, INC.

Issued

Sep 14, 2001

Abate by

Oct 3, 2001

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $2,500 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from
recognized hazards
that were causing or were likely to cause death or serious physical harm
to employees in that
employees were exposed to serious crushing-type injuries:
a)Employees operating motorized pallet jacks were allowed or required to
drive
the pallet jacks up to battery charging stations exposing them to the
potential
hazard of being crushed between the shelving unit and the back rest of the
pallet jack.  Specifically, the shelving units holding up the battery
chargers
were configured high enough to allow the motor/control arm end of a pallet
jack to pass underneath the shelf, but low enough to allow the operator to
be
pinned between the shelf and the back rest on the motorized pallet jack.
Further, once a pallet jack had begun to pass underneath a shelving unit
the
shelf height restricted the upper movement of the control arm thus
limiting
the
operator's ability to use this method to apply the brakes on the device
(at a
time when the operator was at greatest risk of being pinned between the
shelf
and the back rest).
While ultimate responsibility for correcting the hazard rests with the
employer, given its
superior knowledge of the workplace, feasible and acceptable methods to
correct the hazards,
among others, are:  (1) to lower the battery charger shelving units to
prevent any part of the
motor end of a double pallet jack from passing underneath them;  (2) to
install shelving unit
crossmembers near the floor to serve as barrier guards, or;  (3) install
angle iron barrier
guards on the floor to prevent any part of a double pallet jack from
rolling underneath the
shelving units.
Abatement certification is required for this violation (using the
CERTIFICATION OF
CORRECTIVE ACTION WORKSHEET), and in addition, documentation demonstrating
that
abatement is complete must be included with your certification.  This
documentation may
include, but is not limited to, evidence of the purchase or repair of the
equipment,
photographic or video evidence of abatement, or other written records.

Issued

Sep 14, 2001

Abate by

Oct 3, 2001

Penalty

Initial $2,500 · Current $1,250 Reduced