OSHA Inspection: UNIVERSAL FOREST PRODUCTS EASTERN DIVISION INC

Issued

Jan 7, 2008

Abate by

Feb 11, 2008

Penalty

Initial $4,500 · Current $2,250 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 fire hazard due to the lack of proper
safeguards in the dust
collection system which had filtered air recycled back into the building.
Due to the lack of
safeguards a fire occurred in the dust collector and was brought into the
Truss Mill.
a) Truss Mill:  The employer did not provide a means of preventing foreign
materials, such as tramp metal, capable of igniting wood dust from entering
the dust collection system, on or about August 8, 2007.
b) Truss Mill:  The system was not equipped with a listed spark detection
system, designed and installed in conformance with the relevant sections of
NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code, located on the duct upstream from the
dust collector and downstream from the last material entry point, or on the
exhaust side of the dust collector, to detect fire entering or occurring
within
the dust collector, on or about August 8, 2007.
c) Truss Mill:  The exhaust air duct conveying the recycled air back to the
building was not equipped with a high-speed abort gate activated by the
spark
detector, on or about August 8, 2007.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to
correct this hazard
is to comply with the requirements of NFPA 664, Standard for the
Prevention of Fires and
Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities, 2007 Edition.
ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED

Issued

Jan 7, 2008

Abate by

Jan 10, 2008

Penalty

Initial $1,125