Dec. 21, 2015

Defective crane at Vidor, Texas, work site resulted in worker death
Houston employer, Trans Global Solutions, cited by OSHA for eight workplace violations

Employer name: Trans Global Solutions Inc.

Citations issued: Dec. 21, 2015

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection at a petrochemical loading and unloading facility on June 26, 2015, in Vidor, Texas, after a worker sustained fatal injuries from a defective crane. While moving hoses and trying to lower the crane's boom, the crane's remote control failed and the operator was unable to control the boom's movement, which led to a worker being pinned and killed. A willful violation was cited for operating a defective crane and seven serious violations were cited for failing to conduct inspections and address electrical and drowning hazards.

Proposed Penalties: $109,000

Quote: "When a hazardous condition, such as a defective crane, is found then allowed to continue to be operational, it puts workers' lives in danger and that is unacceptable," said Mark Briggs, OSHA's area director in the Houston South office. "It is the employer's responsibility to find and fix hazards in the workplace."

Link to the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/TransGlobalSolutionsInc1074840.pdf

Information: Headquartered in Houston, Trans Global Solutions employs about 700 workers. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, 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 Houston South Area Office at 281-286-0583.

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Media Contacts:

Diana Petterson, 972-850-4710, petterson.diana@dol.gov
Juan Rodriguez, 972-850-4709, rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

Release Number: 15-2405-DAL

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