OSHA Inspection: BUCKEYE DIAMOND LOGISTICS, INC. DBA EASY HEAT WOOD PELLETS OF PA, INC.

Issued

2020-11-03 00:00:00

Abate by

2020-11-23 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $10390.00 · Current $6234.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(4)(ii): The energy control procedures shall clearly and specifically outline the scope, purpose, authorization, rules, and techniques to be utilized for the control of hazardous energy, and the means to enforce compliance including, but not limited to, the following:  (A) A specific statement of the intended use of the procedure; (B) Specific procedural steps for shutting down, isolating, blocking and securing machines or equipment to control hazardous energy; (C) Specific procedural steps for the placement, removal and transfer of lockout devices or tagout devices and the responsibility for them; and (D) Specific requirements for testing a machine or equipment to determine and verify the effectiveness of lockout devices, tagout devices, and other energy control measures.  a)  On or about July 28, 2020, the employer failed to develop an energy control procedure specifically for the Vecoplan Wood Pellet Mill.

Issued

2020-11-03 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $10390.00 · Current $0.00 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 July 28, 2020, the employer failed to provide locks used to isolate electrical energy specific to a Vecoplan Midwest wood pellet mill.

Issued

2020-11-03 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $10390.00 · Current $0.00 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 following sequence:  (2) turn off and shut down the machine (3) physically locate and operate the energy isolating devices in such a manner as to isolate the machine or equipment from the energy sources.  (4) affix lockout or tagout devices to each energy isolating device  (5) Following the application of lockout or tagout devices to energy isolating devices, all potentially hazardous stored or residual energy shall be relieved, disconnected, restrained, and otherwise rendered safe.  (6) Prior to starting work on machines that have been locked out or tagged out, verify that isolation and deenergizing of the machine or equipment have been accomplished.  a)  On or about July 22nd, 2020, located in the pellet mill area of BDL Supply, employees were exposed to machine hazards associated with rotating rollers while performing cleaning duties inside the roller and die area of a Vecoplan Midwest wood pellet mill.  The employer failed to implement energy control application steps as the pellet mill was not shut down or turned off to perform the cleaning work [per the 1910.147(d)(2) requirements]. As a result, the remaining applicable energy control elements, involving machine isolation [(d)(3)], LOTO device application [(d)(4)], dissipation of residual energy [(d)(5)(i), and verification of isolation [(d)(6)], were not implemented to protect employees from machine hazards.

Issued

2020-11-03 00:00:00

Abate by

2020-11-23 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $10390.00 · Current $6234.00 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1): Types of guarding. One or more methods of machine guarding shall be 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. Examples of guarding methods are-barrier guards, two-hand tripping devices, electronic safety devices, etc.  a) On or about July 22, 2020, employees were exposed to a crushing hazard in that the machine guarding was not adequate to prevent employees from by-passing/disabling the electronic safety devices for the Vecoplan Midwest wood pellet mill in order to jog the machine while the mill door was ajar.