27 May Pitfalls of Noncompliance

Original article from safetydailyadvisor.blr.com

by Chris Kilbourne

Injury and illness prevention is always a big issue for safety professionals especially when incidents result in days away from work. Many companies are responding with injury and illness prevention plans.

Repeat Violator to Pay More Than $125k

Soft drink company (Pennsylvania)
OSHA Region 3

Safety and health violations: According to OSHA, the repeat violations were due to electrical hazards; failing to conduct baseline and annual audiograms, to establish noise engineering controls, and to provide noise training; failing to provide machine guarding, to establish machine-specific hazardous energy control procedures, and to train employees in those procedures; failing to ensure means of egress was unobstructed; and failing to ensure proper use of flexible cable.

Penalty: $125,865 fine

Excavator Fails to Protect Workers

Excavation contractor (Arizona)
OSHA Region 9

Serious violations: According to OSHA, following an investigation into the death of a worker, the contractor was cited for failing to visually inspect the quick-coupler device before or after attachment and before use; failing to instruct the operator to recognize and avoid operation of the excavator’s bucket shovel in close proximity to other workers; and failing to ensure the work area was free from recognized hazards, including struck-by hazards during trenching.

Penalty: $8,400 proposed fine

Iron Foundry Exposes Workers

Iron foundry (Wisconsin)
OSHA Region 5

Serious violations: The company was cited for 24 serious violations, including violations of OSHA’s confined space permit regulations; excessive accumulation of sand and dust; unguarded railings; failing to provide adequate personal protective equipment for eyes, hands, and face to protect against metal splash hazards; failing to provide hazardous energy control procedures; failing to provide employees effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area; and failing to provide employee representatives with access to exposure records within a reasonable time frame. Several violations were cited regarding respiratory protection, including a lack of medical evaluations, fit testing, and training.

Penalty: $274,500 proposed fine

Tire Recycler Fails to Abate

Tire recycling company (Wisconsin)
OSHA Region 5

Safety violations: The recycler was cited with 12 safety violations after a November 2012 follow-up inspection found the employer failed to abate previous citations by developing a written hazard communication program and training workers on its requirements.

Penalty: $53,856 proposed fine

Roofer cited for fall hazards

Roofing contractor (Connecticut)
OSHA Region 7

Safety violations: OSHA found workers exposed to falls of up to 11 feet 2 inches while they installed roofing without the use of fall protection. The workers had not been trained to recognize fall hazards, and workers using a pneumatic nail gun were not wearing eye protection.

Penalty: $44,880 fine

Painter slapped with nearly $460k in fines

Painting company (Pennsylvania)
OSHA Region 3

Health and safety violations: According to OSHA, the contractor was cited with 38 alleged violations—including 14 willful and 11 repeat—found at bridge work sites in Slatington, Harrisburg, and Slatedale, where workers were exposed to lead and other safety and health hazards while performing abrasive blasting and repainting projects.

Penalty: $459,844 fine

Heat Exposure Results in Death

Roofing company (Ohio)
OSHA Region 5

Serious violations: According to OSHA, the serious violations involved failing to provide a program addressing heat-related hazards in the workplace and to train workers on recognizing the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses, including taking such preventive measures as consuming adequate amounts of water.

Penalty: $8,820 fine

Pasta Maker Exposes Workers

Pasta manufacturer (Illinois)
OSHA Region 5

Serious violations: According to OSHA, the manufacturer was cited for deficiencies in the company’s ammonia refrigeration process. Violations included lack of written standard operating procedures for the ammonia refrigeration process; no emergency action plan; failing to perform inspects and tests on process equipment; not addressing the hazards of the ammonia refrigeration process; and failing to address the findings and recommendations of the process hazard analysis team.

Penalty: $54,000 fine

Company Cited for 8 Serious Violations

Sports helmet painting company (Texas)
OSHA Region 6

Serious violations: According to OSHA, the serious violations include failure to: ensure electrical equipment was free of recognized hazards, provide adequate machine guarding while operating industrial sewing machines, provide a fall protection program to prevent fall hazards from the basket of a powered industrial truck, and implement a respiratory protection program.

Penalty: $44,000 fine