OSHA Inspection: WHITMORE FAMILY ENTERPRISES, LLC DBA TAZA CHOCOLATE

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Abate by

Nov 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $4,900 · Current $1,900 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(1):     The employer did not establish a program consisting of an energy control procedure, employee training and periodic inspections to ensure that before any employee performed any servicing or maintenance on a machine or equipment where the unexpected energing, startup or release of stored energy could occur and cause injury, the machine or equipment shall be isolated from the energy source and rendered inoperative:    Location: Facility    On or about 8/22/12, the employer did not establish an energy control program consisting of energy control procedures, employee training, and periodic inspections including but not limited to the employees who clean, scrape, change belts, and perform maintenance to the following but not limited to machines;    1. Donut depositor cutter  2. Tempering machine  3. Holding tank in the depositing room  4. Holding tank 1 in the Hot room  5. Holding tank 2 in the Hot room  6. Mix tank in the Hot Room  7. Molino 1  left machine  8. Molino 1  right machine  9. Molino 2  left machine  10. Molino 2  right machine  11. Dual roll refiner machines  12. Semi-automatic wrapping machine  13. Fully-automatic wrapping machine  14. Roaster machine  15. Winnower machine  16. Cheese grater machine in room B206

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Penalty

Initial $4,900 · Current $2,200 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.178(l)(1)(ii):     The employer did not ensure that each operator had successfully completed the training required by paragraph (l), except as permitted by paragraph (l)(5), prior to permitting an employee to operate a powered industrial truck:    Location:  Facility    On or about 8/22/12, the employer did not perform initial training or ensure that each operator successfully completed the training prior to permitting operators to operate the powered industrial trucks.

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.178(p)(1):     Where powered industrial trucks were found to be in need of repair, defective, or in any way unsafe, the trucks were not taken out of service until they had been restored to safe operating condition:    Location:  Facility    On or about 8/22/12, the employer allowed operators to continue driving the Yale forklift with a non-functional emergency brake, no back-up alarm, seat torn, and a corroded battery seeping outside of the forklift.

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Abate by

Nov 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $4,900 · Current $2,200 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1):     One or more methods of machine guarding was not provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and sparks:    On or about 8/22/12, the employer did not provide a guarding device on the following machines to protect employees from the in-going nip points;    Location: Depositor room     1. Donut depositor cutters plunger mechanism  2. Tempering machines rotating blades  3. Holding tanks agitator blades    Location: Hot room  4. Holding tank 1 agitator blades  5. Holding tank 2 agitator blades  6. Mix tank mixing blades  7. Molino 1  left machine auger and stone  8. Molino 1  right machine auger and stone  9. Molino 2  left machine auger and stone  10. Molino 2  right machine auger and stone  11. Dual roll refiner machines both rollers    Location: Room B206  12. Cheese grater machine in room B206 spinning grater blade

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Abate by

Nov 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $4,900 · Current $2,200 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.219(b)(1):     Flywheel(s) with parts seven feet or less above floor(s) or platform(s) were not guarded in accordance with the requirements specified in 29 CFR 1910.219(b)(1)(i) through (b)(1)(iv):    Location: Hot room    On or about 8/22/12, the employer did not adequately guard the flywheel to protect employees from in-going nip-points for the following machines;    1. Molino 1  left machine  2. Molino 1  right machine  3. Molino 2  left machine  4. Molino 2  right machine

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Abate by

Nov 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.219(d)(1):     Pulley(s) with part(s) seven feet or less from the floor or work platform were not guarded in accordance with the requirements specified in 29 CFR 1910.219(m) and (o):    Location: Roaster room    On or about 8/22/12, the employer did not adequately guard the belt and pulley of the following machines to protect employees from in-going nip-points;    1. Winnower machine  2. Roaster machine

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Abate by

Nov 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $2,100 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.219(f)(3):     Sprocket wheels and chains which were seven -7 feet or less above floors or platforms were not enclosed:    Location: Facility    On or about 8/22/12, the employer did not protect employees from in-going nip-points and adequately guard the chains and sprockets while in operation for the following machines;    1. Location: Roaster room - Winnower machine  2. Location: Packaging  fully-automatic wrapping machine

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Abate by

Nov 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.305(b)(1)(ii):     Unused openings in boxes, cabinets, or fittings were not effectively closed:    Location: Hot room, roll refiners    On or about 8/22/12, the employer had a knockout missing on the control panels of the roll refiner exposing employees that operate the machine to electrical shock and fire hazards.

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Abate by

Nov 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $500 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.305(g)(2)(ii):     Flexible cords were not used only in continuous lengths without splice or tap:    Location:  Depositor room, Tempering machine    On or about 8/22/12, the employer spliced heat trace from the electrical motor and taped it together, exposing employees to a 120 volt electric shock and fire hazards.

Issued

Sep 28, 2012

Abate by

Nov 13, 2012

Penalty

Initial $3,500 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.305(g)(2)(iii):     Flexible cords and cables were not connected to devices and fittings so that strain relief was provided that would prevent pull from being directly transmitted to joints or terminal screws:    Location: Hot Room    On or about 8/22/12, the employees who work with the Molino 1, left machine and the Roll refiners were exposed to fire hazards, arc flash, and blast hazards, and electric shock hazards where the flexible cable was damaged from strain and exposing the internal wires.