OSHA Wrap-Up: September 2014
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is responsible for the regulation of safe and healthy work environments for working men and women by means of enforcing standards and conducting training, education, and assistance. Through numerous acts and statutes, OSHA holds companies to a standard of working conditions that is both beneficial and safe for both employees and employers. Often, companies either willingly or inadvertently disregard certain standards set forth by OSHA thereby violating the mandated regulations. When this occurs, OSHA steps in and assesses the extent of the violations and cites them in order to prevent further occurrences of such violations.
The following companies were cited with various OSHA violations in the past month:
The following companies were cited with various OSHA violations in the past month:
- In Ravenna, Ohio, rubber production plant, Portage Precision Polymers has been cited for 15 serious safety and health violations. Most of the citations issued were for worker exposure to combustible dust and potential amputation hazards. Under certain conditions, combustible dust can become explosive when suspended in the air in the proper concentration. The amputation hazards found on the site included lack of machine guarding and failing to implement specific lockout procedures which would prevent machine operation during maintenance routines. The citations carried with them a proposed penalty totaling more than $61,000 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA received a complaint regarding the site which was then followed up with a thorough investigation.
- In Cleveland, Ohio, manufacturing plant, MCM Industries Co. has been cited for one willful and 17 serious health and safety violations. Both the willful and serious violations involved amputation hazards. The violations found on the site included lack of machine guarding and failure to implement specific lockout procedures which would prevent machine operation during maintenance routines. The citations carried with them a proposed penalty totaling more that $126,000 in fines by the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA.
- In Landsdowne, PA, masonry contractor, JC Stucco and Stone Inc. has been cited for three willful and three repeat serious safety violations. After an investigation was conducted by request of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections the company was found to using scaffolding that failed to provide adequate bracing as well as a lack of fall protection for employees working up to a height of 32 feet. The willful violations were cited fines of $200,500 while the repeat citations incurred a fine of $35,200. Thus totaling a proposed penalty of $235,700 in fines.
Compliancy is not only important for the secure operation of a construction site or a plant but for the overall safety and protection of the site's employees. For training and extensive courses, visit GreenEdu.com to maintain compliance to all such OSHA standards and requirements.
