A USPS facility has been cited for safety violations.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the US Postal Service Network Distribution Centre in Urbandale, Iowa for two repeated safety violations and one serious safety violation.

OSHA is seeking penalties of USD88,000 for the infringements.

Investigators from OSHA's Des Moines area office investigated the facility in October 2015, following a complaint alleging forklift operators were handling unstable loads and driving forward with no clear path of visibility.

The inspection found that employees were exposed to crushing and other hazards associated with operating powered industrial trucks.

According to OSHA, the employer failed to "take such actions as appropriate training, instruction, visual observation and other means when the forklift operator had been involved in an accident or near-miss".

USPS was previously cited for a violation of occupational safety and health standards at its facility in Federal Way, Wash. The facilities in Iowa and Washington are part of the national system of highly mechanised and automated mail processing with a transportation network dedicated to handling and moving standard mail, periodicals, package services and other mail classes.

A second repeat citation was issued because "the employer failed to ensure that only stable or safely arranged loads were handled". The USPS facility in Federal Way previously was cited for a violation of the same standard.