“BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Bozzuto’s Inc. for 25 alleged violations of safety standards at its Cheshire, Conn., food distribution warehouse. The company faces a total of $58,750 in proposed fines.

“These citations address a cross section of mechanical, electrical and exit access hazards that exposed workers to the dangers of electric shock, lacerations, amputation, and being caught in operating machinery or unable to swiftly exit the workplace in the event of a fire or other emergency,” said Kang Yi, OSHA’s acting area director in Bridgeport. “It is imperative that the company take effective action to ensure that all such conditions are corrected and do not reoccur.”

OSHA’s inspection found workers unable to open emergency exit doors from inside the workplace; a lack of specific procedures to lock out the power sources for compactors and other machines to prevent their unintended startup during service or maintenance; unguarded grinder, table saw, compactor and other machinery; missing guardrails; no workplace hazard assessment to determine what types of personal protective equipment workers would need; a deficient respiratory protection program; unlabeled lifting slings; improperly stored oxygen cylinders; and several electrical hazards.”

“OSHA identified additional safety and health hazards for Bullins employees, including improper anchorage points for the lifelines, an uninspected suspended scaffold, respirator protection deficiencies, overexposure to respirable dust, fumes and solvents, improper transfer of flammable liquids, smoking while mixing flammable liquids, electrical hazards and failing to appropriately monitor the inside of the water tank for oxygen-deficient atmospheres before workers entered it. Both employers also were cited for recordkeeping violations.”

Employee complaints prompted an OSHA inspection of this plant. Some were repeat citations. Two other facilities had been cited in 2009.
Employee relations can affect safety and compliance and vice versa. Safety should be a team effort. Most companies we do electrical safety training in are wanting to do the right [...]

“OSHA’s Houston North Area Office began its inspection on Aug. 14 when an employee who was removing a demountable wall made contact with a live wire and died. The company was cited for two alleged willful violations for failing to adequately protect employees from energized electrical circuits and failing to inform employees about the hazards involved with energized electrical circuits. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”

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Interestingly $55,000 of the fines are electrical. Companies can fix these issues by using NFPA 70E, OSHA standards and other applicable standards and NOT get these fines. Looks like the press release doesn’t say anyone was hurt. Good news.
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Though the injury was unrelated to many of the fines, OSHA fined this company on several of the new buzz words, “equipment specific lockout/tagout”, “combustible dust”, “electrical hazards.” OSHA is concentrating on what hurts and kills people more and less on paperwork issues. OSHA is continuing to emphasize following NFPA 70E and OSHA electrical [...]

Another example of combustible dust and electrical hazards in the same place. OSHA is really cracking down on the electrical hazard.
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“OSHA began its investigation in July 2009 after a maintenance worker employed by Mueller Copper Tube Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Mueller Industries, was killed, and two other workers were injured when naphtha, a flammable liquid of hydrocarbon mixtures, leaked from an electric pump and ignited.”

Watch these. More and more OSHA finds electrical hazards at almost every site they fine. Is OSHA being better trained and focusing on what kills more people? I think so. Scaffolding, falls and electrical are in the top 5 killers of US workers.
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