Local company faces $320K fine in worker death
Material Handling Systems of Louisville faces proposed fines of $320,400 for safety violations after one of its employees died in a fatal fall in Addison, Ill.
The 42-year-old Illinois man was dismantling equipment at a United Parcel Service facility when he accidentally fell 22 feet. Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration authorities opened an investigation into MHS and MHS Technical Services, which were working under a multi-million contract with UPS to dismantle conveyor systems and install new, high-speed conveyors.
Similar upgrades are planned as UPS expands its Centennial package handling facility in south Louisville.
Phone messages left at MHS offices on Blue Lick Road in Louisville were not returned.
“A man is dead because this employer decided to break the law over and over again. Before this tragedy, OSHA cited this contractor twice for exposing workers to fall hazards, including at the same site just four months earlier,” said David Michaels, the agency's assistant labor secretary, in a statement.
“OSHA is asking companies contracting with Material Handling Systems to take strong steps to ensure that this employer protects its employees, and terminate its contracts if this employer continues to violate OSHA regulations. Material Handling Systems employer must demonstrate it can work safely and stop injuring its employees,” Michaels said.
The MHS employee was identified as Matt Cienkus of Lansing, Ill, in a Chicago Sun-Times report last February.
On July 29, regulators cited the companies for three violations, categorized as "willful," that drew fines of $70,000 each for allegedly failing to protect workers from fall by using guardrails, safety nets or "fall arrest systems." OSHA also listed proposed fines totaling $92,400 for repeated violations involving alleged failure to instruct workers in recognizing and avoiding unsafe conditions.
Three additional violations carrying potential fines from $4,400 to $7,000 each – categorized as serious – involved alleged use of damaged synthetic slings to hoist conveyor equipment, use of combustible polyethylene tarp to screen workers while arcing sparks during welding and failure to check if elevated grated panels were secure to safely support a worker. OSHA noted that a month after the death, another worker fell more than 13 feet where the panels weren't properly secured.
In fall 2015, OSHA cited Material Handling Systems for fall protection violations at the same job site. The company also received similar violations after an employee suffered serious injuries in a fall in Keasby, N.J., in 2014.
Under the administrative process, the company can contest the citations, which leads to a hearing before an administrative law judge. The agency and the company typically resolve the matter with a settlement that can include financial penalties and a plan for addressing the safety issues.
Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at 502-582-4082 or gschneider@courier-journal.com.