Three recent OSHA enforcement actions provide cautionary tales concerning serious and willful violations of various standards and a apparent inclination on the part of the agency to go after repeat offenders.
Serious and Repeat Violations
An automotive parts manufacturer in Alabama was cited by OSHA with six safety violations, including two repeat violations.
The citations came as a result of an OSHA inspection, initiated by a complaint alleging safety hazards at the facility. The inspection was conducted as part of OSHA’s National Emphasis Program on Amputations and its Local Emphasis Program on Powered Industrial Trucks.
Four serious violations involved failure to:
- Conduct periodic inspections of the energy control procedures
- Provide training for employees on the lockout/tagout of energy sources
- Secure racks that are used for storing materials
- Repair electrical deficiencies
Two repeat violations involved failure to:
- Secure compressed gas cylinders
- Guard the points of operation on the crimper and bending machines
Willful and Repeat Violations
A California-based food processing company was cited for willful and repeat safety violations at the company’s Chicago meat processing facility after a worker suffered amputations of two fingers while operating a vacuum packaging machine.
Another worker had been injured operating the same machine a few weeks before and suffered deep lacerations and tendon damage on four fingers.
OSHA inspectors found that workers used magnets and other tools to override guarding interlock systems on machines. They also discovered that the employer had not affixed lockout/tagout devices to all energy sources, nor had it taken adequate steps to prevent workers from coming into contact with machines’ points of operation.
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The company had been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program after being cited for willful and repeat safety violations based on a 2010 inspection at the Chicago plant.
The company is contesting all of the citations.
Repeat Violations Uncovered in Follow-up Inspection
A manufacturer of recreational and consumer appliances and lawn and garden products has been cited for 11 safety and health violations after a February 2012 follow-up inspection of the facility revealed some of the same violations as OSHA’s original inspection found in February 2010.
Proposed penalties total $162,800.
Three repeat safety and one repeat health violation similar to violations cited in 2010 involved failure to:
- Perform a periodic inspection of the lockout/tagout procedures for machines’ energy sources to prevent them from starting up unexpectedly
- Train employees in lockout/tagout procedures
- Develop a training program for workers exposed to noise at or above 85 decibels
- Provide guardrails on all sides of platforms to prevent fall hazards.
Additionally, one serious health and four serious safety violations involved failure to:
- Protect workers on scissor lifts from fall hazards
- Provide fixed stairs or a ladder to access the hopper platform
- Properly store acetylene cylinders
- Provide annual training on fire extinguishers and hearing conservation
- Establish baseline audiograms for workers exposed to noise
Finally, one safety and one health violation involved deficiencies with electrical cords and with the facility’s permit-required confined space program.
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Prevent Injuries, Incidents, and Citations
When you prevent incidents and injuries, you also minimize the risk of OSHA inspections and citations. It’s a win-win-win proposition.
But because workplace incidents are caused by many factors—human, mechanical, and otherwise—it’s important to understand and implement the right tools to prevent them.
That’s why you need BLR’s recorded webinar Injury and Incident Prevention at Work: Good for Employees, Employers, and Your Bottom Line. In the webinar our safety expert provides you with strategies and tips on reducing hazards and eliminating injuries and incidents at your workplace.
You will learn:
- How costs associated with an injury—direct and indirect—affect your bottom line
- Strategies for conducting and using effective hazard recognition tools
- The difference between reactive and proactive measures, and why both are important
- Steps to ensure effective accountability for safety—from new hires to top management
- Nationally recognized analysis and tracking methods
- Why it’s crucial to get workers on board with creating a culture of safety, and how to achieve this buy-in
- How to integrate safety directly into your operating procedures and production
About Your Speaker
Wayne Vanderhoof, CSP, is the president of RJR Safety Inc., a safety consulting company located in southwestern Pennsylvania. Vanderhoof provides safety-related services to clients in general industry, the construction industry, and in the oil and gas industry.
He has more than 18 years in safety and health including public safety and plant protection, petrochemical plant design, multidisciplined engineering design companies, manufacturing companies and, most recently, with oil and gas industry companies.
Vanderhoof is nationally recognized as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), a Professional Member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), and a member of Independent Oil & Gas Association of Pennsylvania (IOGA-PA). He is an Authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer for the General Industry and the Construction Industry Safety Training – 10 & 30 Hour course, and a First Aid Instructor for the American Red Cross.
Approved for Recertification Credit
This webinar qualifies for Continuance of Certification (COC) credit. CSPs will earn 0.05 COC points for attending this webinar.