OSHA fines crane owner $7,500 after investigating summer accident ( 6 alleged safety violations)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.beaufortgazette.com/174/story/639172.html

Published Thu, Dec 4, 2008 12:00 AM
By MICHAEL WELLES SHAPIRO
[e-mail]
843-706-8142

A Beaufort construction company was fined $7,500 last month by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration after the company's crane collapsed on two houseboats at Palmetto Bay Marina over the summer.

An inspector from OSHA's Atlanta office cited Beaufort-based Atlantic Marine Construction Co. for six alleged safety violations, which an OSHA spokesman said created an environment in which the crane's boom, or arm, smashed through Cindy Holland's houseboat, landing just feet from a couch she was occupying.

"OSHA issues a serious citation when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known," said the spokesman, Michael Wald. "If the OSHA standards had been followed, these hazards would not have existed."

"I'm not going to make any comments," said Atlantic Marine owner Dan Schultz. He has until Tuesday to appeal the citations.

OSHA documents state that Atlantic Marine removed safety devices on its crane called "boom stops," designed to stop a boom that loses its grip on what it's lifting or pulling.

FULL story at link.