A food cannery faces $143,550 in federal penalties after a worker, 35, fell more than 17 feet into an empty sauerkraut vat and broke multiple bones. The inspection that followed was the fourth time since 2011 that OSHA has cited the company for failing to protect workers from fall and machine hazards. On April 13, OSHA issued one willful, two repeat, five serious and one-other-than serious safety violations after the Oct. 27, 2015 injury inspection. The agency found similar violations at the facility in 2013 and 2015. Here is a breakdown of the PRCS citations (as well as the others):
The alleged violations below have been grouped because they involve similar or related hazards that may increase the potential for injury or illness.
Citation 1 Item 1a
Type of Violation: Serious; $4,950
29 CFR 1910.146(d)(3)(i): Under the permit-required confined space program required by 29 CFR1910.146(c)(4), the employer did not develop and implement the means, procedures, and practices necessary for safe permit space entry operations, including, but not limited: specifying acceptable entry conditions:
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, the employer did not specify the acceptable and safe entry conditions for employees assigned to enter permit-required confined spaces, such as the sauerkraut storage vats in room one and the above ground silo vats in rooms two through four for filling, removing, and cleaning purposes.
Citation 1 Item 1b
Type of Violation: Serious; GROUPED
29 CFR 1910.146(d)(9): Under the permit-required confined space program required by 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4), the employer did not develop and implement procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services, for rescuing entrants from permit spaces, for providing necessary emergency services to rescued employees, and/or for preventing unauthorized entry:
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, the employer did not develop and implement procedures for rescuing entrants from permit-required confined spaces such as the sauerkraut storage vats in room one and the above ground silo vats in rooms two through four.
Citation 1 Item 1c
Type of Violation: Serious
29 CFR 1910.146(d)(10): Under the permit-required confined space program required by 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4), the employer did not develop and implement a system for the preparation, issuance, use, and cancellation of entry permits as required by 29 CFR 1910.146:
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, the employer did not develop and implement a system for the preparation, issuance, use and cancellation of entry permits prior to allowing employees to enter permit-required confined spaces, such as the sauerkraut storage vats in room one and the above ground silo vats in rooms two through four for filling, removing, and cleaning purposes.
Citation 1 Item 2
Type of Violation: Serious; $4,950
29 CFR 1910.146(d)(4)(viii): Under the permit-required confined space program required by 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4), the employer did not provide, at no cost to the employees, rescue and emergency equipment needed to comply with 29 CFR 1910.146(d)(9):
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, the employer did not provide any rescue and emergency equipment for employees entering permit-required confined spaces such as sauerkraut storage vats in room one and above ground silo vats in rooms two through four.
Citation 1 Item 3
Type of Violation: Serious; $4,950
29 CFR 1910.146(d)(5)(i): The employer did not test conditions in the permit space to determine if acceptable entry conditions existed before entry was authorized:
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, the employer did not perform atmospheric testing and monitoring to evaluate that entry conditions were acceptable prior to allowing employees to enter the sauerkraut storage vats in room one and above ground silo vats in rooms two through four.
Employees entered these permit-required confined spaces to remove sauerkraut with a vacuum system and to clean the vats prior to refilling them.
Citation 1 Item 4
Type of Violation: Serious; $4,950
29 CFR 1910.146(e)(1): Before entry was authorized, the employer did not document the completion of measures required by 29 CFR 1910.146(d)(3) by preparing an entry permit:
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, the employer did not complete entry permits prior to allowing employees to enter permit-required confined spaces, such as the sauerkraut storage vats in room one and the above ground silo vats in rooms two through four for filling, draining, and cleaning purposes.
Citation 1 Item 5
Type of Violation: Serious; $4,950
29 CFR 1910.147(d): The established procedure for the application of energy control (the lockout or tagout procedures) did not cover the actions listed in and was not done in sequence as required by 29 CFR 1910.147(d)(1)-(6):
On or about October 19, 2015, employees were exposed to machine hazards associated with moving parts when they engaged in set-up activities on the overhead cabbage conveyor system. The employer did not ensure that employees implemented energy control application steps prior to allowing them to stand on top of the overhead cabbage conveyor system to adjust sweeps. The conveyor started unexpectedly and the employee fell approximately 17 feet into an empty cabbage fermentation vat.
The machine was not deenergized prior to the employee engaging in the servicing/maintenance activity. As a result, the remaining applicable energy control elements, involving machine isolation [1910.147(d)(3)], lockout/tagout device application [1910.147(d)(4)], dissipation of residual energy [1910.147(d)(5)(i)], and verification of isolation [1910.147(d)(6)] were not implemented to protect employees from machine servicing hazards.
The alleged violations below have been grouped because they involve similar or related hazards that may increase the potential for injury or illness.
Citation 2 Item 1a
Type ofViolation: Willful; $69,300
29 CFR 1910.23(c)(1): Open-sided floors and/or platforms four feet or more above adjacent floor or ground level were not guarded with standard railings (or equivalent) and toeboards:
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, employees utilized a 28 inch wide scaffold plank without guardrails and toe boards positioned over sauerkraut vats in room one to move conveyor sweeps, exposing employees to fall hazards of approximately 14 feet.
Note: Toeboards are only required when persons can pass, there is moving equipment or there is equipment with which falling materials could create a hazard.
Citation 2 Item 1b
Type of Violation: Willful; GROUPED
29 CFR 1910.132(a): Protective equipment was not used when necessary whenever hazards capable of causing injury and impairment were encountered:
(a) On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, employees working in sauerkraut vats in room one were exposed to fall hazards of approximately 14 feet into adjacent empty vats when leveling cabbage, placing the water bedding, and removing the plastic covers.
(b) On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, employees working in sauerkraut silo vats in rooms two through four were exposed to fall hazards of approximately 13.5-24 feet onto concrete when leveling cabbage, placing the water bedding, and removing the plastic covers.
Citation 3 Item 1
Type of Violation: Repeat; $24,750
29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4): When the employer decided that its employees would enter permit spaces, the employer did not develop and implement a written permit space entry program that complied with 29 CFR 1910.146:
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, employees were assigned to enter cabbage fermentation vats (permit-required confined spaces) to remove sauerkraut with a vacuum system and to clean the vats prior to refilling them.
The employer did not develop and implement a permit-required confined space entry program that ensured compliance with all of the applicable elements under 1910.146(d) such as, but limited to:
- Procedures to prevent unauthorized entry.
- Procedures to identify and evaluate the hazards of permit spaces.
- Procedures necessary for safe permit space entry operations (applicable conditions for entry, providing entrants or their representatives with the opportunity to observe monitoring or testing of permit spaces, ventilating the permit space as necessary to eliminate or control atmospheric hazards, protection from external hazards, and verifying that conditions are acceptable for entry throughout duration of entry).
- Procedures for providing testing and monitoring equipment and rescue and entry equipment.
- Procedures for evaluating permit space conditions when entry operations are conducted (testing and monitoring).
- Procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services, for rescuing entrants from permit spaces, for providing necessary emergency services to rescued employees, and for preventing unauthorized personnel from attempting a rescue.
- Procedures for preparing, issuing, using, and canceling entry permits.
- Procedures for reviewing and revising entry operations.
- Procedures for reviewing and revising the permit space program.
Company was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard (29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4)), which was contained in OSHA inspection number 315850503, citation number 2, item number 2 and was affirmed as a final order on September 21, 2012, with respect to a workplace located in NY.
Citation 3 Item 2
Type of Violation: Repeat; $24,750
29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1): One or more methods of machine guarding was not provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and sparks:
On or about October 19, 2015 through November 10, 2015, employees working on platforms in vat room two were exposed to the ingoing nip points created by the cabbage conveyor belts entering the vats.
Company was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard 29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1), which was contained in OSHA inspection number 936123, citation number 1, item number 8 and was affirmed as a final order on June 16, 2014, with respect to a workplace located in WI.
Company was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard (29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1)), which was contained in OSHA inspection number315850503, citation number 2, item number 4, and was affirmed as a final order on September, 21, 2012, with respect to a workplace located in NY.
Citation 4 Item 1
Type of Violation: Other-than-Serious; $0.00
29 CFR 1910.23(a)(8): Every floor hole into which persons can accidentally walk were not guarded:
On or about October 27, 2015, passageways located in vat room one had unguarded drain channels that created tripping hazards that could cause employees to fall.
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