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OSHA Says Safety Failures Led To Death Inside Concrete Mixer At Cantonment Company
September 21, 2023
The U.S. Department of Labor has found that safety failures led to the death of a 19-year old inside a concrete mixer at Foley Products Company in Cantonment last March.
“A Georgia-based concrete pipe manufacturer could have prevented a 19-year-old worker from suffering fatal injuries after a concrete mixer restarted while the teen tried to clean the machine’s inside,” the Labor Department said in a release.
An investigation determined two employees of Foley Products climbed inside the mixer initially to use a hammer and chisel to chip away hardened concrete. As one of the workers left the mixer, the machine restarted with the other inside.
OSHA inspectors cited the company for willfully exposing workers to crushed-by hazards by allowing them to enter the mixer without making sure to first follow energy-control procedures. The agency also found the company exposed workers to confined spaces hazards by not making sure a safe atmosphere existed inside the mixer before the workers entered and by failing to have an attendant ready to retrieve workers safely. OSHA also determined the company did not make certain workers were trained and that they understood the safe application and removal of energy controls before servicing machines.
Foley Products Company received one willful violation and six serious violations. The company faces $245,546 in proposed penalties.
“Foley Products Company’s failure to implement well-known safeguards cost the life of a worker just beginning their adulthood,” said OSHA Area Office Director Jose A. Gonzalez in Mobile, Alabama. “This preventable tragedy should serve as a reminder of the importance of complying with safety and health standards, as required by law.”
Headquartered in Newnan, Georgia, the precast concrete manufacturer had 30 workers at the Florida job site at the time of the incident. The company employs about 500 workers, serving numerous agencies and municipalities in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA – as Foley Products Company has done – or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Pictured: First responders arrive at the scene of an industrial fatality on March 15, 2023, in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
14 Responses to “OSHA Says Safety Failures Led To Death Inside Concrete Mixer At Cantonment Company”
Well good by to that company. The family will own that company! So sad
@JJ Yes I used strong words but what if God forbid this happens to anyone in your family he was 19 and worked there for a little over 2 weeks because he found out he was going to be a daddy and now his precious daughter only hearing about her daddy. It specifically said this was 100% preventable would negligent homicide make you feel better?? You don’t know the full extent of the investigation I do!!
I agree with the other Bob.
When you work at a company, it is their obligation to keep the work environment safe. If they are pressuring employees to break regulations, failing to maintain safety equipment, or cutting corners at the expense of worker safety, it is on them when an accident happens.
Unless this poor kid decided to voluntarily jump into the mixer while it was running, the company has blood on its hands.
To the comments about not placing majority of blame on the company. Did you read where it stated that some employees were not trained or didn’t understand the procedure. Believe employee was on the job less then two weeks Why would you put someone new in such a hazardous situation it being fully trained
Sounds more like a culture issue at that plant like this is common practice while supervision turns and ignores as long as reaching daily goals I’m sure osha interviewed everyone that was there when the accident took place From the violations they were issued it sounds like this company was cutting every corner to save time or they just pencil whipped training and didn’t truly take safety seriously
Have heard about this company and not very well respected in the industry. From the top Frank Foley down to the managers he has They push power and money over employees health and quality
@ industrial worker. Yes, I know. Sorry I wasn’t clearer in my post. Almost 30 yrs commercial and industrial construction work. I was merely stating that the fine is a joke for an incident that caused a young man his life. I used to come over and swim in Chad’s parent’s pool when we were kids. So this is a little close to home for me. And yes, Murder would not be correct. Negligent homicide would be. Unless there’s more to it and was deliberate. Anyways, very sad and heartbreaking for all.
@ JJ…we are both on same page here. There should have been a confined space procedure as well. I know, as well as you know, that the employee is just as responsible as the employer. I covered this incident this morning in our morning safety meeting and the Confined Space entry was brought up. If you are retired from the industry then you, like myself, have seen the many reasons why we have the safety rules in place today that we have. Its sad that this young man passed away in all of this that happened…it didn’t have to happen. The worker is just as responsible as any other person on the job when it comes to stopping work due to a safety concern/issue. What gets me is how did this machine start and who hit the switch? I pray for this family.
Hate to bring this up but this machine didn’t just restart itself somebody had to hit a switch. That’s who is responsible here.
Safety rules
Safety rules
Safety rules
Just one person skipping them can cause injury or death. As a retired contractor,I have seen many rules broken on the jobsite so stop blaming the company outright. Even the person that started the machinery had rules to follow. Was there not a LOTO at the entrance of this machine and who was to activate it????
@Bigblock 345
That is just the fine they pay to OSHA. Once the findings are finalized by OSHA the family will hopefully sue this negligent company for a commensurate amount. (No amount of money is ever worth the loss of a loved one however)
Prayers for this young man’s family.
THIS DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN!!! SHOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED!!!
LOTO(lock out/tag out) …which shuts down all energy sources…is a LAW and SAFETY RULE that the company SHOULD follow as well as the worker. Yes, the individual doing the work owes it to themselves to request a LOTO and CHALLENGE(try the start button/switch) that LOTO. It’s sad this young man lost his life and it’s even sadder that this employer DIDN’T prevent this from turning into what it did…a senseless fatality. I’m my almost 40 years in the Construction Industry, I’ve seen safety rules change as well as new ones implemented…because someone got seriously injured or killed is what caused these changes. That’s sad but it’s fact! Neither of these workers should have ever entered that drum with the energy states not isolated and someone higher up shouldn’t have allowed that particular task to begin without achieving ZES(Zero Energy State). Such a sad sad outcome that didn’t have to happen. I’m not placing all the blame on one side or the other here but everyone failed that young man that day(including himself). I prayed the day this happened and will continue praying for this young man’s family as well as his coworker that witnessed this…seeing a fatality in this business is something we never forget…I have one that has stayed with me for 36 years…
Agree Shannon. A $240 thousand fine is a pittance for the life lost. They should be made to pay millions to the Hanks family AND be put in prison for what this company did. (Or didn’t do) here.
Murder? WOW, SOCIETY USES THIS STRONG WORD LOOSELY. the definition is very strict in the court system. The young man died due to many factors that went wrong. Yes, the company will be paying out to the young girl and mother. Likely in the 7 figures.
I think the company should have to pay the family for there lose because it’s there fualt this young man is dead and will miss out on everything with his little girl that is on the way thats just my Opinion
This young 19 year who would still be here with us is my nephew! I hope this place is shutdown forever! He’ll never meet his little girl who is due in a few weeks. This company murdered him in my eyes and you’ll never make me believe otherwise! If you have someone you love please make them quit their job there it’s a death trap! Please keep his family and his girlfriend in your prayers no one should have to go thru He’ll because a place is more worried about making money than people’s lives!