OSHA Inspection: MULLER QUAKER DAIRY LLC

Issued

Mar 3, 2016

Abate by

Apr 3, 2016

Penalty

Initial $3,825 · Current $2,869 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.119(e)(5): The employer did not assure that PHA recommendations were resolved in a timely manner;   a) On or about 09/21/15 in the ammonia system and Engine room; employer failed to protect employees from contact with ammonia vapors and or liquid when they did not add an annual PM of the 3-way relief valves as per recommendation #9 from the PHA conducted 2012.    b) On or about 09/21/15 in the ammonia system and Engine room; employer failed to protect employees from contact with ammonia vapors and or liquid when they did not ensure the manufacturer's recommendation for fan blade inspection had been added to the Semi-Annual Condenser PM as per Recommendation #32 from the PHA conducted in 2012.    c) On or about 09/21/15 in the ammonia system and Engine Room; employer failed to protect employees from contact with ammonia vapors and or liquid when they did not include in their PM schedule a valve exercising program to comply with IIAR 110.6.6.1 as per recommendation # 53 from the PHA conducted in 2012.    ABATEMENT DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED

Issued

Mar 3, 2016

Abate by

Apr 15, 2016

Penalty

Initial $3,060 · Current $2,295 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.119(f)(1): The employer did not implement written operating procedures that provide clear instructions for safely conducting activities involved in each covered process.  a) On or about 09/21/15 in the Engine Room; employer failed to require the use of a hose connected to the drain line on the oil pots as per Operating Procedures SOP-01, SOP-02, exposing employee(s) involved in oil draining, to ammonia liquid and vapors.    ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION REQUIRED

Issued

Mar 3, 2016

Abate by

Apr 3, 2016

Penalty

Initial $3,825 · Current $2,869 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.119(f)(4): The employer did not implement safe work practices to provide for the control of hazards during operations such as control over entrance into a facility by support personnel:  a) On or about 09/21/15 in the Machine Room; employer failed to protect the safety of employees when an authorized employee allowed a non authorized employee to enter the equipment room (an authorized area) without an escort, exposing them to contact with ammonia vapors or liquid.    ABATEMENT DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED

Issued

Mar 3, 2016

Abate by

Apr 3, 2016

Penalty

Initial $3,825 · Current $2,869 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.119(j)(2): The employer did not establish written procedures to maintain the on-going integrity of process equipment;   a) On or about 09/21/15 in the Machine room; employer failed to protect employees from exposure to ammonia vapors when they did not have written procedures for performing the preventative maintenance and semi-annual testing of the ammonia detectors, such as but not limited to NH3 AD-1, NH3 AD-2, NH3 AD-3.   b) On or about 09/21/15 in the Machine room; employer failed to protect employees from exposure to ammonia vapors when they did not have written procedures for conducting the preventative maintenance and testing of the high level alarms for equipment such as but not limited to, SD-1, HTR.    c) On or about 09/21/15 in the Machine room; employer failed to protect employees from exposure to ammonia vapors when they did not have written procedures for conducting the preventative maintenance and testing of the emergency shut down systems on the ammonia compressors.     ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION REQUIRED

Issued

Mar 3, 2016

Abate by

Apr 3, 2016

Penalty

Initial $3,825 · Current $2,869 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.119(j)(4)(iii): The frequency of inspections and tests of process equipment was not consistent with applicable manufacturers' recommendations and good engineering practices, and more frequently if determined to be necessary by prior operating experience.  a) On or about 09/21/15 in the Machine room; employer failed to protect employees at the site from ammonia vapors when they did not conduct monthly tests of each AirScan IR ammonia detector sensor(s), record signal voltages, periodically expose sensors to refrigerant sample and log results as per the manufacturers' recommendations for the Honeywell-Manning brand AirScan IR ammonia detector located in the compressor room.      ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION REQUIRED

Issued

Mar 3, 2016

Abate by

Apr 3, 2016

Penalty

Initial $3,825 · Current $2,869 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.119(l)(1): The employer did not implement procedures to manage changes to process chemicals, technology, equipment, and procedures, and changes to facilities that affect a covered process;   a) On or about 09/21/15 in the Engine room; employer failed to require the use of the Management of Change Procedure to authorize a change in the function and operation of the Surge Drum.  Due to a malfunction of the level transmitter in the Surge drum, automatic control of the tank levels was turned off.  The liquid ammonia level in the tank was controlled manually for a period of 12 hours and to accommodate this change, the pre-set position of the hand expansion valves were changed in order to stabilize the refrigeration system.      ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION REQUIRED

Issued

Mar 3, 2016

Abate by

Apr 3, 2016

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.119(l)(4): Process safety information required by paragraph (d) of this section was not updated when a change covered by this paragraph resulted in a change in the process safety information.  a) On or about 09/21/15 in the Engine Room; employer failed to change the normal operating range of the Surge drum level (25-40%) in the Process Safety information after establishing a new normal operating range ( 5-25%) due to the replacement of a malfunctioning level transmitter.    ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION REQUIRED

Issued

Mar 3, 2016

Abate by

Apr 3, 2016

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.119(l)(5): When a change covered by this paragraph resulted in a change in the operating procedures or practices required by paragraph (f) of this section, such procedures or practices were not updated accordingly.  a) On or about 09/27/15 in the Engine room; employer failed to update the Surge drum operating procedures after switching from automatic control of the tank level to manual operation.  Due to a malfunction of the level transmitter in the Surge drum, automatic control of the tank levels was turned off.  The liquid ammonia level in the tank was controlled manually for a period of 12 hours and to accommodate this change, the pre-set position on the hand expansion valves were reduced in order to control and stabilize the refrigeration system.      ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION REQUIRED