OSHA Inspection: FABCON PRECAST, LLC.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Penalty

Initial $8,675 · Current $5,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): 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 impact, caught-between and/or fall from the cab of vehicle hazards due to a non-functioning personal restraint system:  a. On or about June 6, 2020, and at times prior, employees operated a T-630 Tuckerbilt concrete hauler in and between buildings. The #1 Tuckerbilt concrete hauler's seatbelt lacked its receiving end, thereby exposing employees to the hazards associated with tip over and collision incidents.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Penalty

Initial $8,675 · Current $5,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.37(a)(3): Exit routes must be free and unobstructed. No materials or equipment may be placed, either permanently or temporarily, within the exit route:  a. On or about June 6, 2020, located in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room, there was a structural steel member located across the exit route which partially obstructed the route, thereby exposing employees to the hazards associated with an emergency situation.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.37(b)(7): Each exit sign must have the word "Exit" in plainly legible letters not less than six inches (15.2 cm) high, with the principal strokes of the letters in the word "Exit" not less than three-fourths of an inch (1.9 cm) wide:  a. On or about June 6, 2020, located in the Batch Plant and below the stairs at a personnel ramp, there was an exit sign that was no longer legible, thereby exposing employees to the hazards associated with an emergency situation.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Abate by

Dec 22, 2020

Penalty

Initial $12,145 · Current $12,145

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4):  If the employer decides that its employees will enter permit spaces, the employer shall develop and implement a written permit space program that complies with 29 CFR 1910.146:  a. On or about June 5, 2020, the employer had not developed a written permit space program that addressed the required standard elements for full body entry into the mixer located in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room by batch operators for cleaning with an air chisel and by maintenance employees for periodic maintenance and repairs, thereby exposing employees to engulfment, caught-in, and struck-by hazards. With respect to the mixer located in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room, the company's confined space written procedures lacked the development of items such as, but not limited to, the following:  i. Specific measures necessary to prevent unauthorized entry into the mixer as required by 1910.146(d)(1);  ii. Specific means, procedures, and practices necessary for specifying acceptable condition for entry into the mixer as required by 1910.146(d)(3)(i);  iii. Specific means, procedures, and practices necessary for verifying that conditions in the mixer are acceptable for entry throughout the duration of an authorized entry as required by 1910.146(d)(3)(vi);  iv. Specific designation of the persons who are to have active roles in mixer entry operations as required by 1910.146(d)(8);  v. Specific procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services to the mixer, for rescuing entrants from the mixer, for providing necessary emergency services to employees rescued from the mixer, and for preventing unauthorized personnel from attempting a rescue into the mixer as required by 1910.146(d)(9);  vi. Specific procedures for reviewing entry operations into the mixer when the employer has reason to believe that the measures taken under the permit space program may not protect employees and revising the program to correct deficiencies found to exit before subsequent entries are authorized as required by 1910.146(d)(13);  vii. Specific procedures for reviewing the permit space program's effectiveness for the mixer using cancelled permits and revising the program as necessary as required by 1910.146(d)(14).

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Abate by

Dec 22, 2020

Penalty

Initial $121,443 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(g)(1): The employer shall provide training so that all employees whose work is regulated by this section acquire the understanding, knowledge, and skills necessary for the safe performance of the duties assigned under this section:   The employer does not protect employees from hazards associated with the mixer in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room (a permit-required confined space) by providing permit-required confined space entry training to all employees participating in entries into that space.  a. On or about June 5, 2020, the employer had not provided batch operators with the necessary permit-required confined space training prior to allowing a batch operator to fully enter the mixer in the Batch Plant (a permit-required confined space) to perform cleaning with an air chisel, thereby exposing the employee to engulfment hazards related to the mixer's concrete ingredients, mechanical hazards related to the mixer's pneumatically powered discharge gate, mechanical hazards related to the mixer's electrically powered blade/shaft system, and heat-related illness hazards from environmental and metabolic heat loads.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Abate by

Dec 22, 2020

Penalty

Initial $12,145 · Current $10,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(5)(i): Locks, tags, chains, wedges, key blocks, adapter pins, self-locking fasteners, or other hardware shall be provided by the employer for isolating, securing or blocking of machines or equipment from energy sources:  a. On or about June 5, 2020 and June 6, 2020, located in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room, the employer did not ensure that employees were provided with locks, and securing/blocking devices for the energy sources to the mixer. Despite the mixer having multiple hazardous energy sources, batch operators were provided with one non-functioning lock and there were no devices provided for isolating the mixer from the overhead concrete mixer ingredients, thereby exposing employees to caught-in, struck-by, and engulfment hazards.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Abate by

Dec 22, 2020

Penalty

Initial $12,145 · Current $10,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(6)(i): The employer shall conduct a periodic inspection of the energy control procedure at least annually to ensure that the procedure and the requirements of this standard are being followed:  a. On or about June 6, 2020, the employer had not conducted periodic inspections of the full lockout/tagout procedures covering the pneumatically powered discharge gate, the electrically powered blades, the water, and the overhead concrete ingredients associated with the concrete mixer in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room on an at least annual basis, thereby exposing employees to caught-in, struck-by, and engulfment hazards.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Penalty

Initial $8,675 · Current $5,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.305(b)(2)(i): All pull boxes, junction boxes, and fittings shall be provided with covers identified for the purpose:  a. On or about June 24, 2020, located on the along the casting wall in the Batch Plant, there was an electrical outlet box that was approximately four foot seven inches from an employee walking surface that had its wires exposed due to a missing cover, thereby exposing employees to an electrical shock hazard of approximately 120 vac.   b. On or about June 24, 2020, located along the casting wall in the Batch Plant, there was an electrical junction box that was seven foot eleven inches from an employee walking surface that had its wires exposed due to a missing cover, thereby exposing employees to an electrical shock hazard of approximately 120 vac.   c. On or about June 24, 2020, located on the stair landing in the Batch Plant, there was a pull box on the side of a 480 electrical panel that had exposed wires due to a missing cover, thereby exposing employees to an electrical shock hazard up to 120 vac.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Abate by

Dec 22, 2020

Penalty

Initial $121,443 · Current $12,145 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(d)(3)(iii): Under the permit-required confined space program required by 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(4), the employer shall develop and implement the means, procedures, and practices necessary for safe permit space entry, operations, including, but not limited to, Isolating the permit space:  The employer does not protect employees from hazards associated with the mixer in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room (a permit-required confined space) by developing and implementing the means, procedures, and practices necessary to isolate the permit space from multiple hazards.  a. On or about June 5, 2020, the employer had not developed and implemented the means, procedures, and practices necessary for isolating the mixer in the Batch Plant (a permit-required confined space) from multiple hazards prior to allowing a batch operator to fully enter the mixer to perform cleaning activities with an air chisel, thereby exposing the employee to engulfment hazards related to the mixer's concrete ingredients, mechanical hazards related to the mixer's pneumatically powered discharge gate, and mechanical hazards related to the mixer's electrically powered blade/shaft system.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Abate by

Dec 22, 2020

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.146(e)(1): Before entry is authorized, the employer shall document the completion of measures required by 29 CFR 1910.146(d)(3) by preparing an entry permit:  The employer does not protect employees from hazards associated with the mixer in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room (a permit-required confined space) by documenting the completion of the means, procedures, and practices necessary for permit space entry operations by preparing an entry permit.  a. On or about June 5, 2020, the employer did not prepare an entry permit prior to allowing a batch operator to fully enter the mixer in the Batch Plant (a permit-required confined space) to perform cleaning activities with an air chisel, thereby exposing the employee to engulfment hazards related to the mixer's concrete ingredients, mechanical hazards related to the mixer's pneumatically powered discharge gate, mechanical hazards related to the mixer's electrically powered blade/shaft system, and heat-related illness hazards from environmental and metabolic heat loads.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Abate by

Dec 22, 2020

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $95,355

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(7)(i)(A): Each authorized employee shall receive training in the recognition of applicable hazardous energy sources, the type and magnitude of the energy available in the workplace, and the methods and means necessary for energy isolation and control:  The employer does not protect employees from hazards associated with the pneumatic discharge gate of the mixer in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room during servicing and maintenance activities performed beneath the mixer (in the mixer's discharge chute) by providing authorized employee training covering the mixer's pneumatic energy source which powers the mixer's discharge gate.   a. On or about June 6, 2020, the employer had not ensured that each batch operator performing servicing and maintenance activities inside of the Batch Plant mixer's discharge chute was trained at the level of an authorized employee in the recognition of, the type and magnitude of, and the methods and means necessary to control the hazardous energy posed by the mixer's pneumatically powered discharge gate, thereby exposing the employees to caught-in and struck-by hazards.

Issued

Dec 2, 2020

Abate by

Dec 22, 2020

Penalty

Initial $121,443 · Current $95,355 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(d): Application of control. The established procedures for the application of energy control (the lockout or tagout procedures) shall cover the following elements and actions and shall be done in the sequence required by 29 CFR 1910.147(d)(1) through (d)(6):  The employer does not protect employees from the hazard(s) associated with the pneumatic discharge gate of the mixer in the Batch Plant's Mixer Room during servicing and maintenance activities performed beneath the mixer (in the mixer's discharge chute) by applying energy control (lockout procedures) to control the hazardous pneumatic energy powering the opening and closing motion of the gate.  a. On or about June 6, 2020, the employer did not ensure that a batch operator unjamming the pneumatically powered discharge gate of the mixer in the Batch Plant with an air chisel from the underside of the mixer (in the mixer's discharge chute) applied energy control procedures to control the hazardous pneumatic energy powering the opening and closing motion of the gate. The employer failed to ensure that the energy control application steps were implemented as an energy isolation device was not located and operated to isolate the mixer's discharge gate from the pneumatic energy source [per the 1910.147(d)(3) requirements]. As a result, the remaining energy control elements, involving lockout device application [(d)(4)], dissipation of stored or residual energy [(d)(5)], and verification of isolation [(d)(6)], were not implemented to protect the employee from this machine hazard, thereby exposing the employee to caught-in and struck-by hazards.