Region 3 News Release: 13-1792-NEW (osha 13-096)
Sept. 5, 2013
Contact: Leni Fortson Joanna Hawkins
Phone: 215-861-5102 215-861-5101
Email: uddyback-fortson.lenore@dol.gov hawkins.joanna@dol.gov

Henkels & McCoy Inc. cited by US Labor Department's OSHA for exposing
workers to safety hazards at Neptune, NJ, highway work zone

BURLINGTON, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Henkels & McCoy Inc., operating from its Burlington center, for six serious safety violations at a Neptune work site, where workers were performing water service repair on a road. OSHA issued $42,000 in proposed penalties following an April inspection opened under the agency's national emphasis program on trenches and local emphasis program on highways.

The violations include the company's failure to have a competent person provide frequent and regular inspections of the job site, materials and equipment; follow the required use of proper traffic control signs and devices that protect workers; place the required three advance warning signs to indicate highway space ahead undergoing work; follow the mandatory requirements and usage guidance for hand signaling devices; ensure workers conformed to hand signaling procedures; and properly set up a flagger station. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

"Without the proper precautions, highway workers are vulnerable to a number of hazards from outside and inside the work zone, such as being struck by vehicles," said Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of OSHA's Marlton Area Office. "It's vital that the company quickly abate these violations to protect its workers in the future."

Henkels & McCoy Inc., headquartered in Blue Bell, Penn., operates centers and offices nationwide and abroad. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, ask for an informal conference with OSHA's area director in Marlton, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's area office in Marlton at 856-596-5200.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 303-693-7838 or TTY 303-693-7755.