Washington Companies Cited for Workplace Safety; Violation by State of Washington

May 15, 2020 23:20 JST

Source: ETON Transportation

LAS VEGAS, NV, May 15, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Division of Occupation Safety and Health has cited the Washington Companies' Modern Machinery site in Rochester, WA for violation of State Statute WAC 296-800-11005. The violation as written states, "The employer did not provide employees a workplace free from recognized hazard that are likely to cause serious injury or death: in that their employees were exposed to falls greater than 4 feet onto compacted soil while loading equipment on truck trailers for delivery. Falls from greater than 4 feet onto compacted soil would likely result in injuries of a reversible nature requiring hospitalization." The violation type was considered serious by the inspector for the State of Washington.

The contention in an ongoing federal lawsuit is that Washington Companies failed to provide fall protection to the commercial truck drivers on the Washington Companies site, thus depriving a driver from complying with the State of Washington statutes regarding working height. The result of the Washington Companies willful lack of fall protection was that the driver could not be on the trailer deck to measure the height of their load. Washington Companies lack of fall protection for the driver required the driver to rely on a Washington Companies employee to provide loaded height dimensions of loads loaded at Washington Companies' Modern Machinery site in Rochester, WA.

If Washington Companies had provided the required fall protection the driver in an ongoing lawsuit could have measured his load and potentially stopped the bridge strike on June 16, 2016, which caused serious damage to motorists and the destruction of the bridge.

Modern Machinery is a part of a large consortium of privately held companies collectively known as the Washington Companies, owned by billionaire Dennis R. Washington. Modern Machinery sells and rents high quality heavy equipment and provides product support to the construction, mining, and forestry industries. The Modern Machinery terminal in Rochester, WA is home to a large staging area for a variety of Komatsu products brought from overseas awaiting shipment to other Komatsu dealers.

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Source: ETON Transportation
Sectors: Local Biz