OSHA Proposes $66,000+ in Fines against Massachusetts Food Packager
OSHA has cited Brady Enterprises Inc. of Weymouth, Mass., for alleged, willful, repeat, and serious violations of safety and health standards at its 45 Finnell Drive plant. The food products packager faces $66,500 in proposed fines, following a Nov. 14 accident in which an employee was caught in a labeling machine while cleaning it.
OSHA's inspection found that the machine's moving parts were not guarded against employee contact, and the machine's power source had not been shut down and locked out prior to the cleaning. As a result, OSHA has issued the company one willful citation, with a proposed fine of $56,000, for not guarding the machine against employee contact and one repeat citation, with a $3,000 fine, for not shutting down and locking out the machine.
"This is the second accident in three years at this plant involving machinery that wasn't properly guarded or locked out," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. "This employer must take prompt, effective, and ongoing action to correct these hazards and prevent future injuries."
OSHA also has issued the company four serious citations, with $7,500 in proposed fines, for lack of lockout/tagout training and hardware, no annual inspection of the plant's hazardous energy control procedures, and use of an unapproved forklift in an area where flammable cocoa dust was present. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.
OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. The repeat citation stemmed from a similar lockout/tagout hazard cited in October 2006 after an employee lost parts of two fingers in an accident from a month earlier.
Detailed information on hazardous energy control (lockout/tagout) and machine guarding, including interactive eTools, is available online at www.osha.gov/SLTC/controlhazardousenergy/index.html and www.osha.gov/SLTC/controlhazardousenergy/index.html.
Brady Enterprises has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's Boston South area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Boston South Area Office in Braintree; telephone 617-565-6924.