OSHA Inspection: ACTION PRODUCTS, INC.

Issued

May 18, 2000

Abate by

May 31, 2000

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $1,750 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from
recognized hazards
that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees in that
employees were exposed to:
a)The possibility of death or serious physical harm from operating a
plastic
injection molding machine without being trained in, or being required to
perform, a pre-shift safety check required by the manufacturer and clearly
posted on the machine.  The safety check was designed to detect an unsafe
condition on the machine, and to prevent its operation until corrected.
On March 14, 2000, an operator was severly injured when a self-closing
safety
door activated and crushed the individual between the edge of the safety
door
and the door frame.  A "DANGER" sign prominently posted on the front of
the machine clearly stated a simple procedure to follow at the start of
each
shift to verify that all related safety systems were functioning properly
and
to
ensure against this type of injury.  Operators had not been trained in this
procedure and were not being required to perform it prior to each shift as
stipulated by the manufacturer.
While ultimate responsibility for correcting the hazard rests with the
employer, given its
superior knowledge of the workplace, feasible and acceptable methods to
correct the hazard,
among others, are: 1) Ensure that all machine operators are fully trained
in the proper
functioning of all operational and safety-related controls and systems
that exist on, or pertain
to, the machines they operate; 2) Ensure that all operational and
safety-related controls and
systems are properly maintained, tested, and when required, corrected
prior to use, as
stipulated by the manufacturer; and 3) Monitor and enforce operator
compliance with all
operational and safety-related procedures applicable to the specific
machine(s) which they are
required to operate.
Abatement certification is required for this violation (using the
CERTIFICATION OF
CORRECTIVE ACTION WORKSHEET), and in addition, documentation demonstrating
that
abatement is complete must be included with your certification.  This
documentation may
include, but is not limited to, evidence of the purchase or repair of the
equipment,
photographic or video evidence of abatement, or other written records.

Issued

May 18, 2000

Abate by

May 24, 2000

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $1,750 Reduced