Mere months after two employees were injured by dangerous machines, the facility again put workers at risk. Acting on a complaint, OSHA found workers unjamming and servicing machines without proper safeguards during an Aug. 25, 2014, inspection. This is the fourth time in the past year that the facility has been cited for hazards at its food box manufacturing facility. OSHA has proposed fines of $122,500 for two repeated and two serious violations and placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program for failing to correct safety deficiencies. OSHA’s most recent inspection found that the facility had not developed procedures to ensure that the die- cutting machine and paper-sorting machine would not unintentionally operate during servicing or maintenance, a procedure known as lockout/tagout. In July 2014, OSHA cited the company after two employees were injured in separate incidents. One of those injuries also involved machine hazards. Two serious violations address the failure to verify the effectiveness of energy isolating procedures on the paper-sorting and die-cutting machines. Here is a breakdown of the LOTO citations…
Citation 1 Item 1
Type of Violation: Serious; $7,000
29 CFR 1910.147(c)(8): Lockout or tagout was not performed only by the authorized employees who are performing the servicing or maintenance:
(a) On or about August 23, 2014, lockout/tagout was not performed by employees who were getting inside of the Hawthorne airlocks, on the Balemaster Baler Line, to unjam material.
Citation 1 Item 2
Type of Violation: Serious; $7,000
29 CFR 1910.147(d)(6): Verification of isolation. Prior to starting work on machines or equipment that have been locked out or tagged out, the authorized employee shall verify that isolation and deenergization of the machine or equipment have been accomplished.
(a) Maintenance employees climbed underneath the Bobst machines to add oil to the cam and chain and to release the air to the brake, without first verifying that the machine’s energy sources were deenergized and locked out.
Citation 2 Item 1a
Type of Violation: Repeat; $70,000
29 CFR 1910.147(c)(4)(i): Procedures shall be developed, documented and utilized for the control of potentially hazardous energy when employees are engaged in the activities covered by this section:
(a) On or about July 30, 2014, August 14, 2014, and August 23, 2014, there was no specific energy isolating procedure developed, documented and utilized to isolate the electric and pneumatic energy sources on the Hawthorne Airlock on the Balemaster Series 4000 Baler Line, prior to employees entering and unjamming the airlocks.
(b) Maintenance employees working on the Bobst machines did not utilize the energy isolating procedures prior to climbing underneath the machines and oiling the cam and chain and letting air out of the brake.
(c) On or about August 20, 2014, there was no specific energy isolating procedure for the Balemaster Series 4000 Baler to isolate the electric and pneumatic energy sources prior to employees removing excess wire from the twisters.
Corporation was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard, which was contained in OSHA inspection number 964348, Citation Number 2, Item Number 1 and was affirmed as a final order on August 8, 2014, with respect to the same workplace
Citation 2 Item 1b
Type of Violation: Repeat; Grouped
29 CFR 1910.147(d)(3): Machine or equipment isolation. All energy isolating devices that are needed to control the energy to the machine or equipment shall be physically located and operated in such a manner as to isolate the machine or equipment from the energy source(s):
(a) Maintenance employees climbed under the four Bobst machines to oil the cam and chain and to release air to the brake, without first isolating the electric, pneumatic, hydraulic and gravity energy sources.
Corporation was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard, which was contained in· OSHA inspection number 964348, Citation Number I, Item Number 2a and was affirmed as a final order on August 8, 2014, with respect to the same workplace.
Citation 2 Item 1c
Type of Violation: Repeat; Grouped
29 CFR 191 0.147(d)(4)(i): Lockout or tagout devices shall be affixed to each energy isolating device by authorized employees:
(a) Maintenance employees climbed underneath the four Bobst machines to oil the cam and chain and to release air from the brake, without first affixing a lockout device to the energy isolating devices for the electric, pneumatic, hydraulic and gravity energy sources.
Corporation was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard, which was contained in OSHA inspection number 964348, Citation Number 1, Item Number 2b and was affirmed as a final order on August 8, 2014, with respect to the same workplace.
Citation 2 Item 2a
Type of Violation: Repeat; $38,500
29 CFR 1910.147(c)(7)(i): The employer did not provide adequate training to ensure that employees acquired the knowledge and skills required for the safe application, usage and removal of energy control devices:
(a) Maintenance employees working on the Bobst machines were not adequately trained on the safe application, usage and removal of energy control devices, prior to adding oil to the cam and chain and prior to releasing air from the brake.
Corporation was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard, which was contained in OSHA inspection number 964348, Citation Number 1, Item Number 1 and was affirmed as a final order on August 8, 2014, with respect to the same workplace
Citation 2 Item 2b
Type of Violation: Repeat; Grouped
29 CFR 1910.147(c)(7)(iii)(A): Retraining shall be provided for all authorized and affected employees whenever there is a change in their job assignments, a change in machines, equipment or processes that present a new hazard, or when there is a change in the energy control procedures.
(a) On or about July 30, 2014, August I4, 20I4 and August 23, 2014, employees from the Process Department were sent to clean out scrap system jams in the Hawthorne airlocks on the Balemaster Baler line, without first being trained on the energy sources and how to lockout the airlock system.
Corporation was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard, which was contained in OSHA inspection number 964348, Citation Number I, Item Number I and was affirmed as a final order on August 8, 2014, with respect to the same workplace.
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