CENTRAL TRANSPORT INCORPORATED

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, CENTRAL TRANSPORT INCORPORATED — a other support activities for road transportation facility located at 1761 FALL RIVER AVENUE, SEEKONK, MA 02771 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 11 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $68,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2006-10-12.

Cumulative penalties significantly exceed the national median for OSHA enforcement actions. The penalty amount suggests multiple high-gravity citations, indicating conditions that presented a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to employees.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 4.6 per 100 full-time workers — 70% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 14.0 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $68,000.00 is more than 16.0× the national average of $4,244.13 for facilities in the Transportation sector (NAICS 488490). This sector encompasses 17,047 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $72.3M.

State Context: Within MA, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 60,671 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,824.83.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 11 citations spanning 8 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 5 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 6 repeat — A substantially similar violation was found during a previous inspection and the original citation has become a final order.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning April 10, 2007 with the latest abatement deadline set for May 25, 2007. Of the 11 total citations, 10 (91%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, indicating substantial compliance with corrective action requirements.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $68,000.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $6,181.82 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement profile for Central Transport’s Seekonk terminal reveals a hazardous operational environment characterized by chronic negligence in powered industrial truck (PIT) safety and emergency response readiness. The citation pattern transitions from foundational general industry lapses—such as unguarded floor openings and electrical non-compliance—to severe, recurring failures in forklift maintenance and operator training. The presence of multiple "Repeat" violations under 1910.178, carrying significantly elevated penalties of $20,000 and $21,000 respectively, underscores a systemic failure to implement corrective actions from prior inspections. Specifically, the violations for failing to remove defective trucks from service (1910.178(p)(1)) and neglected industrial truck examinations (1910.178(q)(7)) indicate that management knowingly allowed compromised equipment to remain operational, directly exposing workers to crushing injuries, structural collapses, or mechanical failures. Furthermore, the recurrence of violations regarding eye wash stations (1910.151(c)) and fire extinguisher training (1910.157(g)(1)) suggests a breakdown in the facility’s safety culture, where even basic life-safety infrastructure was treated as secondary to throughput. The $68,000 aggregate penalty is exceptionally high for a freight terminal of this size, reflecting OSHA’s intent to penalize the employer’s recidivism. This record demonstrates that the facility’s safety program was reactionary rather than preventative, with systemic gaps in equipment procurement and maintenance protocols that shifted the burden of physical risk entirely onto the frontline dockworkers and operators.