For one Alabama business, penalties totaling just over $50,000 were the result of insufficient safety standards in the workplace.
An inspection initiated in June 2014 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that workers at PJ Lumber Co. were exposed to falls, amputations and other hazards.
The company, which manufactures finished lumber products for resale, has been cited for 13 serious safety and health violations found at the company’s lumber mill on Stephens Road in Pritchard. Proposed penalties total $50,085.
“PJ Lumber has created an unacceptable work environment at this lumber mill and has shown a complete disregard for its workers’ health and safety,” said Joseph Roesler, director of OSHA’s Mobile Area Office. “Employees are subjected daily to multiple hazards, including electrocution, falls, hearing loss and dangerous, unguarded machine parts.”
The serious violations were cited for missing handrails on stairways, amputation hazards from exposed moving machinery parts and exposure to high noise levels without an effective hearing protection plan.
Written Procedures Not in Place
The employer failed to provide written procedures to prevent machinery startup during servicing and maintenance and failed to remove forklifts from use when in need of repair. The employer did not require employees to wear seat belts while operating forklifts.
A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
This company was previously inspected at the Pritchard lumber mill in 2001 and cited for machinery parts guarding, forklift safety and machinery energy control violations.
PJ Lumber employs approximately 151 workers. The company was given 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, fatal work injuries in Alabama accounted for 84 of the 4,383 fatal work injuries reported in 2012.
Additional details are available at http://bls.gov/iif/home.htm.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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