Employees have a basic right to be able to work safely at their site, in their office, or in the field, and it is up to employers to meet the standards set by OSHA across a number of industries to meet those guidelines. Unfortunately, for any number of reasons that may not always take place and the results are harmful or even deadly.

In Hugo, OK, the US Department of Labor cited Trinity Rail and Maintenance Services for confined space violations in August 2020 fatality investigation. OSHA determined that an employee of Trinity Rail and Maintenance Services Inc. became unresponsive after entering a natural gasoline rail car with the intent of cleaning the space in August of 2020. A second employee entered the rail car and was also overcome after attempting to rescue the fallen worker.

Unfortunately, both workers lost their lives during this incident.

After an investigation, OSHA concluded that the company had numerous violations. Two of these were willful violations, defined as: a violation in which the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement (purposeful disregard) or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.

As a result, a proposed fine of $419,347 was levied against Trinity Rail and Maintenance Services.

An unexpected tragedy at a worksite is always an uncomfortable topic to discuss. It doesn’t need to be this way however. Permit Required Confined Space Entry Courses provide the practices and procedures to protect employees from the hazards of entry into Permit Required Confined Spaces. These types of courses are vital to keep accidents such as the one in Oklahoma from being repeated, and keeps your business from bearing an additional financial burden from these incidents.