WI cannery faces six-figure OSHA fine for serious worker injury, other violations

May 5th, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

A Wisconsin-based food manufacturer faces total fines of more than $140,000 following an employee's fall from an elevated position into a processing and storage tank. The plant, located about 30 miles northwest of Appleton, faced an inspection in late 2015 following the serious injury to the staff member. That worker, a 35-year-old man who sustained several broken bones after the drop into the uncovered and empty industrial tank, survived but faces a difficult road to rehabilitation.

The serious injury was one of many problems noted by Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors who visited the facility in its aftermath. Those inspections ultimately led to the issuance of nine violations, covering a variety of safety and health concerns.

The issues at the plan
The nine citations specifically included one willful violation, one other-than-serious violation, two repeated violations and five serious violations, according to local ABC affiliate WBAY. All together, the fines associated with those sanctions totaled approximately $143,000. The fall itself led to an official response from OSHA, noting the plant had failed to protect its staff from the dangers of working high above ground. Workers who must view and interact with large fermentation vats at the plant from a high vantage point lacked both fall protection and arrest equipment as well as guardrails on the catwalks used.

The repeated violations were of particular concern to OSHA inspectors. The official documentation of the citations issued by the regulator notes the two repeat violations cost the company $49,500. The plant neither had guidelines for employees working inside vats to clean and maintain them in accordance with confined space entry program rules nor proper guards and protective material in place for staff using potentially dangerous machines. The lack of necessary safety measures, including not only physical protections but also plans for safe operations and permitting for certain functional needs, may have influenced the amount of the fines.

Employees working on catwalks above the processing and storage tanks did so without much in the way of protection. OSHA noted the lack of both guardrails and toe boards, two items essential to safety for employees high above a production floor. Staff were subject to potential falls as high as approximately 14 feet in some areas of the facility and approximately 24 feet in others.

The willful violations, related to the fall from height accident that led to the serious injury and subsequent inspection, was the most expensive fine for the business at $69,000.

"If [the company] had fixed safety discrepancies found in previous OSHA inspections, this man's injury would likely have been prevented," said Robert Bonack, OSHA's area director in Appleton, in a statement released by the regulator. "In 2014, there were more than 86,300 job related injuries and illnesses recorded for Wisconsin workers. Too many workers suffer life-altering injuries because employers fail to follow common sense safety procedures and regulations to protect them on the job."

WBAY said OSHA specifically noted past issues with the plant falling along similar lines during inspections in 2013 and 2015, the latter of which occurred before the most recent OSHA review that was triggered by the fall.

The next steps
The plant, which didn't reply to request for comment from local news agencies shortly following the announcement of the citations and fines, has the standard options in play for responding to OSHA. The lack of EHS compliance means the food maker and distributor will have to make a decision in 15 days whether to comply and pay, request a meeting with OSHA or contest the findings of the report.