UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Text For Citation: 02 Item/Group: 001 Hazard:

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees: The employer is exposing employees working at its facility, located at 4444 S. 76th Circle, Omaha, NE 68127, to the recognized hazard of structural failure resulting from structural overload. The most recent example of this was on January 20, 2014 when the employer placed limestone product it used in its manufacturing process into 4 storage bins, rice into hulls it used in its manufacturing process into 3 storage bins, and Solulac that it used its manufacturing process into 2 storage bins that were all part of an interconnected 9 bin storage structure (consisting of 9 square bins arranged in a square, connected equipment, and structural steel support columns, trusses, and components) located at and above the roof of its facility without knowing or determining the load capacity of the 9 bin structure. The combined weight of the 4 bins of limestone, 3 bins of rice hulls, and 2 bins of Solulac exceeded the load capacity of the steel structural trusses and connections supporting the 9 bin structure causing them to become overloaded; this resulted in the employer exposing employees to being struck, crushed and killed by the falling bin structure or other elements dislodged by the falling bin structure. As a result of the employer overloading the 9 bin structure, at around 9:40 a.m. on January 20, the steel structural trusses and connections supporting the 9 bin structure suffered a catastrophic failure causing the entire 9 bin structurewhich weighed close to 1,000,000 pounds, including the stored product, structural steel, connected equipment, and dislodged concreteto fall through three floors of the facility, killing 2 employees and injuring 9 others. Among other methods, feasible and acceptable methods of abatement include: 1. The employer obtaining a proper structural evaluation of the 9 bin structure from a qualified professional structural engineer to determine the amount of product that could be safely stored in the 9 bin structure as a whole and in each bin of the 9 bin structure individually. 2. The employer placing appropriate load limits on the 9 bin structure and for each bin individually. 3. The employer training its employees on the load limits for the 9 bin structure and for each bin individually. 4. The employer establishing work rules, policies and practices to prevent overloading the 9 bin structure or any bin individually, including work rules, policies and practices instructing never to place product in a bin if the load capacity of the bin or the load capacity of the structure supporting the bin are unknown.