April 29 – Jorge Leandro-Ramirez was fatally injured while operating a cherry picker. Leandro-Ramirez was working at the construction site in the Effingham County Industrial Park. Due to this accident Vos Electric, a subcontractor at the EFACEC plant, was issued with a serious citation facing a $4900 fine.

However after an informal settlement with OSHA inspectors, company officials were able to present sufficient evidence that extensive training was given. The documentation of training provided by the company convinced the inspectors to delete the citation and the penalty.

Michael Wald, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor’s regional Atlanta Office said “The company provided our investigator with documentation of training on that piece of equipment. The fatality occurred despite of training, not because of lack of training.”

Our main priority should always be to maintain a safe working environment to all our employees. Although accidents sometimes happen even to the best and well trained individuals, providing proper training and making sure that everyone is in good working condition would help us a lot in getting closer to our goal of keeping the workplace safe. Not only will it make them aware of job related dangers it will also make them more efficient workers. Be sure to document trainings given to employees and always remember to retrain or give refresher training whenever necessary.