Food processing facility receives $263K OSHA fine

August 31st, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

A major food processor and manufacturer recently received the results of a long-term Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection conducted at one of its facilities in Texas. The investigation, which stretched from February through July, according to Press Associates Union News Service, resulted in a total of 17 violations at the plant. The total fine facing the company is $263,000, a result of the recent and significant increases to OSHA's fine schedule. As of Aug. 1, the federal health and safety regulator increased the amount of its fines by approximately 80 percent, meaning the financial penalties issued by the organization now have a significantly higher impact on many businesses.

Serious injury leads to investigation
OSHA's initial reason for visiting the meat processing facility and conducting a months-long probe was a serious amputation injury that occurred on the plant floor. An employee working near a conveyor belt that transports chicken parts to a deboning machine had his hand caught in the belt, which led to serious hand injuries, including the amputation of a single digit. The employee was trying to clear a jam in the belt caused by pieces of chicken building up when the injury occurred.

Following that specific incident, OSHA's investigation uncovered a number of amputation hazards in the facility as well as a host of other issues. Press Associates reported other major problems discovered in the plant included unsafe worker exposure to carbon dioxide and paretic acid, a lack of personal protective equipment for staff and a lack of required safeguards on catwalks and various operational machine parts. The plant also contained slip and fall hazards caused by a lack of appropriate drainage in some areas as well as the improper storage of potentially hazardous substances, such as compressed oxygen and acetylene. In all, the chicken processing facility was cited for 15 serious violations and two repeat violations.

As Food Safety News pointed out, the organization was cited for similar issues in the past. A different processing plant in Texas operated by the company was cited for one of the same issues brought up in OSHA's most recent inspection, a lack of personal protective equipment for workers, in 2012. Additionally, it failed to safely store tanks of compressed oxygen and acetylene in the past. OSHA cited the company for the same safety violation in 2013 at a plant located in Alabama.

"[The food company] must do much more to prevent disfiguring injuries like this one from happening," said Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, in a press release from the federal regulator. "As one of the nation's largest food suppliers, it should set an example for workplace safety rather than drawing multiple citations from OSHA for ongoing safety failures."

The company has the standard 15 days from the issuance of the fines to take one of three options: pay the fines directly, contest the results of the inspection and the fines with the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission or request an informal meeting with OSHA's regional director.

While not an exact calculation, the increase in OSHA's fine schedule of roughly 80 percent means that what was once approximately a $65,200 fine is now drastically more and will be going forward. Businesses need to take care to ensure a high level of OSHA compliance going forward, as the financial penalties of failing to do so will only get higher as time goes on. EHS compliance software helps organizations achieve a needed degree of compliance and receive the multitude of benefits such fidelity provides.