Following an investigation in December of 2013, the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Buchman Lumber Co. for 17 citations. These citations come with proposed penalties totaling $145,200. The investigation was initiated after a complaint was made relating to excessive noise and amputation hazards.

“OSHA’s inspection found multiple violations of procedures that protect workers from the serious hazards of exposure to excessive noise in the workplace and numerous amputation hazards. Employee exposure to excessive noise can lead to permanent, disabling injury,” said Mark Hysell, OSHA’s area director for Eau Claire. “In addition, injuries related to machinery and equipment often result in death or permanent disability. Employers have a responsibility to conduct hazard assessments of their workplaces, to implement proper procedures for equipment use, provide the necessary protective equipment and train workers in safe operation.”

The investigation uncovered 4 willful and 13 serious violations. The willful violations were for failing to administer a hearing conservation program; to provide eye and face protection to workers exposed to flying wood chips and boards; and to implement lockout/tagout procedures to prevent machines from turning on during maintenance and servicing.

As you can see, an injury is not always a precursor to an OSHA investigation. If your health and safety procedures are not properly updated and periodically reviewed, you are exposing yourself to a potential OSHA investigation. To help combat this, many business owners establish an auditing schedule with a qualified third party occupational safety and health auditing firm.

If you have any questions about how these findings can impact your business or how a third party audit could help protect your business, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about this investigation or the importance of a third party audit, please leave a comment.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited American Made Tires in July of 2013 for 12 hazards at their Elmira Heights, NY facility in response to an inspection earlier that year. In May, OSHA came back to do a follow up inspection and found that the company failed to correct these hazards. As a result of this inaction, OSHA has proposed an additional $160,280 in fines to the company.

“The company’s inaction exposed employees to ongoing hazards of fire, falls, chemicals and to being caught in or crushed by unguarded or unexpectedly activated machinery,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “The sizable penalties proposed reflect the severity of these conditions and the employer’s failure to follow through on its obligation and commitment to correct hazards that never should have existed.”

As you can see, OSHA does not go easy on repeat offenders. If your company has recently been through an OSHA audit, it is imperative that you correct the issues which OSHA uncovered, even if you do not agree with their assessment. Otherwise, when they come back, they will hit you with heavy fines and penalties. Instead, it is well worth consulting a third party occupational safety and health auditing firm that can perform a full third party review to help you determine the best strategy to correct the findings.

If you have any questions about OSHA follow up audits and how to prepare for them, please contact us and we can help you through the process. If you have anything to add about OSHA follow up audits or about this case, please leave a comment.

The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $217,000 in fines for Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., following an inspection performed at a location in Missoula in November of 2013. OSHA cited Dollar Tree with four violations, which were comprised of three willful and one repeat violation. These fines come on the heals of three other citations in April, which carried penalties of $143,000.

“This employer’s extensive history of ignoring basic safety standards establishes a clear pattern of intentional and complete disregard for employee safety,” said Jeff Funke, OSHA’s area director in Billings. “Employers have an obligation to keep their workers safe, and Dollar Tree keeps failing to do that.”

The history of citations for Dollar Tree comes from inspections held at different stores all across the country, showing that retailers need to be cognizant of conditions and standards at every location. If you have multiple locations, they can, and will, be inspected by OSHA, and if they are not all following proper procedures, your company can, and will, be heavily fined.

If you have recently been through an inspection at one of your retail locations, it is important that you have all of your facilities audited by a qualified third party, and that you review the entirety of your health and safety procedures, to ensure you will not be dinged in a follow up inspection.

If you have any questions about how retail inspections work, or if you need help updating your procedures, please contact us and we will help you. If you have anything to add about the importance of maintaining all retail stores under your company’s ownership, please leave a comment.

We field calls all the time from business owners who think they might need a third party safety audit, or who were advised to begin a safety auditing schedule, but are not sure why they would do this or what the real benefit is. And while there are some obvious times when a third party safety audit is required, there are also many times when a third party safety audit could help your company that you would never think of.

Some of the most common needs for a third party safety audit are for newly formed companies establishing a comprehensive safety and health management system, companies which have recently been cited during an OSHA audit, companies going through changes, and companies with new management. In all of these cases, the safety audit acts as a starting point for creating a completely new safety and health management system to ensure a safe work environment.

But for many companies, the third party safety audit is also important to obtain VPP Star/Merit status or other elite safety recognition. If you are planning to apply for a specific certification, outside auditing is usually a requirement.

And if your facility has never been audited by a third party, or if it has been several years, a third party safety audit allows a fresh set of eyes to review your safety program. As good as your safety team may be, there is always a chance they missed something; a small miss can create a big problem for a company.

So if you think you have a need for a third party safety audit, or if you simply want more information, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the importance of a third party safety audit, please leave a comment.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 12 citations to the American Plant Food Corp. following an investigation of their Bartlett facility. These citations carried a $181,000 fine. The inspection came as a result of an injury suffered after a worker’s leg was entangled in an auger.

“This worker’s debilitating injury was preventable had the employer used certain safeguards,” said Casey Perkins, OSHA’s area director in Austin. “As an established company in this industry with long-term management in place, American Plant Food Corp. should not allow such dangerous workplace practices.”

The violations ranged from inadequate training regarding confined spaces to inadequate safeguards for machinery, to insufficient lockout tagout procedures. The charges levied against American Plant Food Corp. range the full spectrum of occupational safety and health, serving as a testament to the depth of an OSHA investigation. OSHA investigators are not limited in the scope of their investigation and will examine every aspect of your business.

This is why we recommend having routine third party safety audits held for your entire facility. It protects your entire company from potential violations and, should something occur, your potential violations will be much smaller. In an instance like this, a proper and routine third party auditing schedule would have eliminated the majority of these citations.

If you have any questions about third party safety audits and how they might help protect your company and its employees, please contact us. If you have anything to add about this case or about the benefits of third party safety audits, please leave a comment.

 IN 2011, Olé Mexican Foods was cited for, among other things, failing to ensure workers performing equipment servicing and maintenance understood the energy control program and procedures and for caught-in and amputation hazards from the points of operation on equipment in the production area. Earlier this year, OSHA revisited Olé Mexican Foods. Today, they announced over $150,000 in citations, many of which are repeat violations from 2011.

According to William Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office, “This employer received citations for the same hazards earlier and did not correct them. Additionally, amputation and caught-in hazards remained, posing a risk of serious injury or even death for their workers. These hazards must be eliminated immediately from the workplace.”

The penalties for the repeat violations totaled $77,000. In addition, there were $73,030 in penalties for new serious safety and health violations. These violations included failing to clearly and specifically outline the energy control procedures for all energy sources on the mixers and production equipment; instruct each affected worker on the purpose and scope of the energy control program; ensure authorized workers in the energy control program were utilizing lockout procedures when performing service on mixers; cover drainage troughs and guarded platforms to prevent trip and fall hazards; prevent exposure to amputation and caught-in hazards from protruding shaft ends and unguarded chain and sprockets; and ensure unobstructed exit routes. Other violations include failing to ensure workers spraying corrosive chemicals use splash goggles; provide an emergency eyewash station; provide appropriate hand protection; and conduct audiograms for temporary workers exposed to noise levels in excess of permissible exposure limits.

And while this seems like a laundry list of issues you would not expect to find in a normal factory, it is amazing how easily many of these issues can be overlooked. So if you have recently been audited by OSHA, or if you have not recently had a third party safety audit, it might be a good time to contact a qualified third party safety auditing firm to review your workplace.

If you have any questions about third party safety audits, or OSHA regulations in general, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the Olé Mexican Foods fines, please leave a comment.

Whether your lockout tagout procedures have been established for only a few months or for several years, it is important to routinely audit your lockout tagout procedures. This ensures that any changes or updates which have been made were done properly and that any changes or updates which should have been made, either due to changing equipment or changing regulations, are made. Audits protect employees from unnecessary risks and protect management from fines.

A proper lockout tagout audit should, at a minimum, include a full audit of each machine, each placard, and piece of signage. This information should be compared to current OSHA and Corporate requirements, and all of the information found should be properly recorded.

Once the audit is complete, this information should be compiled and included in a final report, which explains the findings and requirements to fix these errors. Among the things covered in the report, there should be a facility equipment list, with a breakdown of the number of energy sources per piece of equipment, the equipment missing lockout procedures, the equipment with compliant lockout procedures, the equipment with non-compliant lockout procedures, and an equipment specific list of all compliance deficiencies.

With that information, your auditor should create a plan to fix any deficiencies and bring your facility up to code. Your auditor should also go over ways to ensure compliance going forward, including methods to monitor your lockout tagout procedures.

If you have any questions about a lockout tagout audit, or about ongoing lockout tagout monitoring, please contact us. If you would like to add anything about the importance of regular lockout tagout auditing, please leave a comment.