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10 Largest OSHA Fines of 2015
Who Got Hit With Huge Penalties This Year?
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December 8. 2015
Safety News Alert
- Alfa Laval, Broken Arrow, OK: $477,900. OSHA said this company failed to make needed changes to its safety program. The fines include five categorized as repeat. Among 45 serious fines was a General Duty Clause violation for combustible dust.
- First Capital Insulation Inc., York, PA: $490,000. OSHA said three workers removing pipe insulation were exposed to asbestos. The company received the maximum penalty for seven willful violations.
- DNRB Inc. dba Fastrack Erectors, Pacific, MO: $511,000. A 22-year-old worker fell more than 30 feet while standing on a 9-inch-wide steel girder on a building under construction in Kansas City, MO. The company now faces seven willful and three serious violations, including fall protection citations.
- Hartman Construction & Equipment Inc., Anchorage, AK: $560,000. A construction worker died after he was buried up to his waist in a trench collapse and then co-workers tried to rescue him using two excavators. The worker died from injuries that resulted from being struck by construction equipment. The company received the maximum penalty for seven willful violations, including trenching hazards.
- Lloyd Industries Inc., Montgomeryville, PA: $822,000. OSHA issued violations to the duct manufacturer following dozens of injuries, including crushed and amputated fingers. OSHA issued 24 violations in its most recent inspection, with 10 categorized as willful. Citations included failure to provide proper machine guarding and hearing tests.
- Dollar Tree, multiple locations throughout the U.S.: $825,000. Dollar Tree and OSHA reached an agreement to settle 13 inspections at the retailer's stores. Inspections uncovered a pattern of violations involving blocked emergency exits, obstructed access to exit routes, improper material storage and electrical hazards.
- Nebraska Railcar Cleaning Services (NRCS), Omaha, NE: $963,000. OSHA issued fines to NRCS in connection with the deaths of two of its employees inside a railcar in April. An explosion blew the escape ladder off of the railcar, trapping one worker inside and hurling the other off the top of the car. A third employee was injured. OSHA issued 33 citations.
- Kehrer Brothers Construction, Okawville, IL: $1,792,000. OSHA says Kehrer brought non-English speaking workers to the U.S. and knowingly exposed them to asbestos. A company affiliated with Kehrer, D7 Roofing, was fined an additional $147,000.
- Case Farms Processing Inc., Winesburg: $1.87 million. These fines added up over several inspections at Case locations. The most recent infractions filed against Case's chicken processing facilities in Winesburg and Canton, OH, involve deficiencies in ammonia refrigeration systems. Those fines alone totaled $462,000.
- Ashley Furniture, Whitehall and Arcadia, WI: $2,280,200. OSHA issued fines to Ashley Furniture three times in 2015. The most recent fines were for failing to protect workers from moving machine parts. Fines issued earlier in 2015 were the result of investigations which showed more than 1,000 recordable work-related injuries in the previous 3.5 years at the company's facilities.
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December 23, 2015 - $40,600 In OSHA Fines For Resco Products Inc.
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December 23., 2015
Tarentum, Pennsylvania
OSHA has again cited Resco Products Inc. (doing business as Worldwide Refractories) for exposing employees to electrical and other safety hazards. Located in Pennsylvania, Resco is a manufacturer of dolomitic brick and specialty refractory products, which are used to line ladles in the steel industry. On December 18, 2015, OSHA issued citations for one repeat, 13 serious and two other-than-serious violations.
Most of the issued citations were related to electrical hazards as indicated below:
- Forklift operators having to maneuver forklifts and hoppers too close to energized conductors.
- Allowing the use of damaged motor control centers with bent and broken panels, switches and handles.
- Exposing employees to electric shock and arc flash hazards by allowing them to use defective electrical equipment and operate forklifts in proximity to electrical equipment.
"The failure to ensure that electrical equipment is maintained in a safe operating condition can be extremely dangerous and potentially deadly," said Christopher Robinson, director of OSHA's Pittsburgh Area Office. "Resco Products has not met its obligation as an employer and needs to do a much better job identifying and eliminating electrical hazards at its Tarentum facility."
The proposed penalties equal $40,600.
This is the fourth time in the past two years that OSHA has cited the company for safety and health hazards. The company was previously cited in July 2015, October 2014 and August 2014.
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Fire Codes And Standards Free Online
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The National Fire Protection has made its codes and standards available online to the public for free as part of it's commitment to enhancing public safety.
Online access to NFPA's consensus documents places important safety information on the desktops of traditional users, as well as others who have a keen interest.
NFPA is proud to have been the first organization to provide free public access to privately developed codes and standards, and are pleased to see other organizations following our lead. There are some who argue that we should do more and immediately make all of our documents available online without any restrictions.
It is essential that NFPA maintain copyright and the ability to charge for the codes and standards. Most of the money NFPA needs to fund our process and other vital mission activities comes from the sale of codes. We also derive funding from the sale of related products and services.
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Read The Article That Has Electrical Contractors Talking...
Simple Steps To Get Into The Lucrative Arc Flash Market
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Published By Electrical Products & Solutions
October 2015
Written By Bryan Rupert
This article by Bryan Rupert, featured in the October issue of Electrical Products and Solutions is a simple guide with step by step instructions to get you in the Arc Flash market. Here you will learn the process as well as gain insight on how to price this type of work. Don't be the last in your area to get into this very lucrative market. Click Here To Read More
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Download FlashTrack Process Comparison - See For Yourself
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The world's best arc flash data collection software just got better.
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Imagine the possibilities!Facility Results has launched a new website dedicated to providing full documentation, tutorials and knowledge base for FlashTrack.
This website is designed for the user to "meet" FlashTrack.
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FlashTrack™ Arc Flash Data Collection Software
FlashTrack's™ simple, drag-n-drop interface is one of its biggest selling points. Couple that with the tool's intuitive, drop-down menus, convenient component libraries, and keyboard shortcuts, and you'll be up and running with FlashTrack in minutes!
FlashTrack™ is an award winning data collection software tool. FlashTrack™ was developed for the purpose of collecting the required equipment attributes that are needed to conduct an arc flash analysis. These same attributes can be used to complete a coordination study or short circuit analysis. FlashTrack™ allows the qualified data collector to model equipment relationships using a drag-n-drop interface. FlashTrack™ is used to catalog the attributes in the format of a single-line diagram. FlashTrack™ exports the completed files to an Excel file (.xls) or CSV file and produces a "Label Installation Report" containing the location of each item that requires a label to be installed. This report can have up to 4 photographs per item for easier item location. The label installation report will save you time and money and eliminate frustration when locating each piece of equipment.
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