Workplace safety standards are imperative to limiting risk and exposure to circumstances that can severely harm employees. So, when these standards are not met it is important that regulatory bodies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) impose punitive measures that will discourage any future negligence. Fines are the agency's primary means of imposing punishment for failing to meet compliance standards.

Saia Motor Freight Line is the latest example of how damaging these fines can be to both a company's finances and reputation. After several employees were hospitalized for their injuries following an explosion at that organization's Missouri trucking terminal last August, OSHA stepped in to ensure that the mistake that caused the event wouldn't happen again.

The agency determined that a company forklift did not have a properly secured connection from its ignition source to the propane gas tank that fuels it,. The failure to properly install that connection led to the explosion. The investigation conducted by OSHA following the injury uncovered one willful and several other serious safety and health violations perpetrated by the freight company.

"Workers must be trained to avoid deadly combinations of flammable fuels, ignition sources, and confined spaces, which allow vapors to ignite quickly," according to Bill McDonald, OSHA's area director in St. Louis stated in a press release. "This incident should remind all employers that using forklifts is one of the hazards workers may face daily." he concluded.

Safety Advantage LLC provides enterprises with training modules that can allow them to properly maintain vehicles such as forklifts. By educating a workforce, a business ensured that safety compliance will be met so that costly fines can be avoided. Meeting this standard of safety is essential to a workplace environment that emphasizes the value of its employees.