OSHA fines company after death of apprentice

A dredging equipment manufacturer has been cited more than $89,000 after the death of a 22-year-old apprentice, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a statement Thursday.

Mobile, Alabama-based SPI/Mobile Pulley Works Inc. was issued 11 serious and two other-than-serious violations following an investigation into the death of the worker, who was working atop a crane bridge when he became caught in a crane trolley shaft and suffered fatal injuries.

An OSHA investigator determined that the death could have been prevented and alleged that the employer failed to ensure workers were removed from the structure of the crane or out of the path of moving parts while the crane was in operation. The agency accused SPI/Mobile Pully Works of allowing employees to work near unguarded equipment, failing to conduct periodic inspections of the crane, exposing workers to respiratory hazards, failing to provide training on fall protection systems, exposing workers to fall hazards and failing to inspect alloy steel chain slings used for rigging.

SPI/Mobile Pulley Works has 15 days to contest the findings. The company did not return a call requesting comment.