Employers subject to the federal Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) rules should take advantage of the opportunity to comment on planned revisions of the standards or face enormous potential costs down the line, several attorneys warn. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) in May seeking input on the agency’s planned revision …
Tag: lockout tagout
Company fined $1.3M, named Severe Violator for variety of willful, serious violations
OSHA fined an Ohio metal heat treatment company more than $1 million for a variety of willful and serious violations and placed it in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program. Inspectors found that the company exposed employees to atmospheric, thermal, electrical and mechanical hazards as they performed maintenance inside heat-treating furnaces. Fine: $1,326,367 Company: Dowa THT …
Training Workers on Control of Hazardous Energy
Failing to train workers on the control of potentially hazardous energy can be an expensive mistake. Earlier this year, in April, OSHA issued a willful citation to a Pennsylvania paperboard manufacturer for alleged violations of 29 CFR 1910.147(c)(7)(i), the section of OSHA’s lockout/tagout standard that requires employee training so that they understand the purpose and …
Five Key Machine Safeguarding Trends
Keeping up-to-date with the latest OSHA/ANSI codes can be a challenge for manufacturers. Advancements in machine safeguarding equipment give employers the potential to significantly impact the way they handle safety while also remaining compliant. There are five major trends in safeguarding for 2018, which can enhance productivity, lower costs and keep workers safe, including: 1. …
OSHA Issues Seven Citations Against Goodyear
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says tire manufacturer Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. was deficient in protecting employees at its Social Circle, Ga., facility from potential harm or death. According to the federal agency, investigators who inspected the site in August 2017 found that the company had failed to provide effective personal protective equipment …
61 OSHA Violations at One Facility: $375K in Fines
A serious OSHA violation can earn a fine of up to $12,675. When the number of citations OSHA issues to a single company reaches well into double digits, the employer can expect a huge fine. OSHA has fined Carthage Specialty Paperboard Inc. of Carthage, NY, $357,445 for 61 violations. OSHA initiated the inspection in response …
10 Health and Safety Tips for Safety Managers [Infographic]
Safety managers have a lot on their plate. Not only do fellow employees count on them, the family and friends of that worker also count on safety managers to make sure each employee goes home safe. As the old adage goes, “safety is everyone’s responsibility,” and a brush-up on health and safety tips may be …
Husband sues 5 companies after factory robot kills his wife
The head injuries his wife received were so severe, a funeral director suggested a closed casket. Now the husband wants answers so that this sort of tragedy involving a factory robot doesn’t happen again. On July 7, 2015, Wanda Holbrook, 57, was working at Ventra, an auto parts factory, in Ionia, MI. Holbrook specialized in …
Die Safety Blocks: Why They’re Needed and How to Use Them
Die safety blocks are called by many names: safety blocks, ram blocks, die blocks or prop blocks. Regardless of the term, die safety blocks all have the same purpose: provide protection to employees working in the die area from a free-falling upper die/slide. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data indicate that approximately three-fifths of all …