The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration
has cited Film Pak Extrusion, LLC for 13 workplace violations related to unsafe work
conditions. These violations consist of one willful and 12 serious workplace violations,
which resulted from a February inspection at the company’s Paterson manufacturing
facility. The citations carry $90,300 in proposed penalties.
The largest citation came for a willful violation due to a lack of machine guarding. This
one citation carried a $56,000 proposed penalty.
“Machines left without required guards can cause catastrophic injury to workers,
including amputation and death. One slip can end a worker’s life or livelihood, and
employers can prevent that,” said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA’s Hasbrouck Heights Area
Office. “Film Pak Extrusion has a responsibility to put worker safety first.”
The remaining citations were for an obstructed exit route, lack of a lockout/tagout
program, powered industrial trucks not inspected prior to use, lack of a hearing
conservation program, failure to conduct audiometric testing, failure to provide hearing
protection and training on hearing protection and noise hazards, and failure to maintain
washing facilities.
As you can see, these citations are all over the map, from simple obstruction to lockout
tagout, to noise hazards. A proper safety and health management system would generally
help to limit the potential areas of citations; if one portion is not up to code, at least the
rest of your facility will be. But you need to have a plan in place to protect yourself
across the board. If you do not have one in place, it is time to consult a qualified third
party occupational safety and health auditing firm to help you create one.
If you have any questions about this case or about creating a safety and health
management system, please contact us. If you have anything to add, please leave a
comment.
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