OSHA Inspection: PLASTIC COMPOUNDERS, INC.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $5,801 · Current $4,351 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.28(b)(1)(i):(1) Unprotected sides and edges.  (i) Except as provided elsewhere in this section, the employer must ensure that each employee on a walking-working surface with an unprotected side or edge that is 4 feet (1.2 m) or more above a lower level is protected from falling by one or more of the following:  29 CFR  1910.28(b)(1)(i)(A): (A) Guardrail systems;  a. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, the employer did not ensure that employees working at heights exceeding four feet were protected from falls. While standing on employer manufactured/fabricated platforms, employees were tasked with loading materials into hoppers that fed the production lines. Adequate means of fall protection and/or prevention were not provided to protect employees from falls. The following condition exposed employees to falls over five feet to the concreate floor.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.30(a)(1):(a) Fall hazards. (1) Before any employee is exposed to a fall hazard, the employer must provide training for each employee who uses personal fall protection systems or who is required to be trained as specified elsewhere in this subpart.  Employers must ensure employees are trained in the requirements of this paragraph on or before May 17, 2017.  a. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, the employer failed to provide training for machine line operator employees exposed to fall hazards. Employees were not trained in fall hazards in the work area and how to recognize them. Employees were exposed to fall distances of over five feet to the concreate floor below, without adequate means of fall protection/prevention, when loading materials into hoppers from employer manufactured/fabricated platforms.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 18, 2022

Penalty

Initial $4,144 · Current $4,144

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.147(c)(1): Energy control program. The employer shall establish a program consisting of energy control procedures, employee training and periodic inspections to ensure that before any employee performs any servicing or maintenance on a machine or equipment where the unexpected energizing, 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.   a. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, the employer did not establish an energy control program to include specific energy control procedures, employee training, or periodic inspections for equipment such as but not limited to the Ettlinger High Performance Melt Filter ERF200/ERF250 at machine line number 7. The employer did not enforce energy control procedures as employees performed maintenance/servicing activities without effectively controlling hazardous energy. The following condition exposed employees to caught-in hazards.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 18, 2022

Penalty

Initial $4,144 · Current $0 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:  a. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, employees were exposed to machine hazards associated with moving parts during service and maintenance of equipment such as but not limited to the Ettlinger High Performance Melt Filter ERF200/ERF250. The employer did not implement energy control application steps as the machine was not fully shut down and turned off prior to performing 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)] and verification of isolation [(d)(6)], were not implemented to protect employees from machine servicing hazards.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $5,801 · Current $4,351 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.178(a)(4):Modifications and additions which affect capacity and safe operation shall not be performed by the customer or user without manufacturers prior written approval. Capacity, operation, and maintenance instruction plates, tags, or decals shall be changed accordingly.  a. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, the employer manufactured/fabricated a work platform used with powered industrial equipment throughout the facility. Employees would be lifted in the work platform to close the lids on the blender equipment, to the ceiling of the facility to turn off breakers, to work on heaters and to change light bulbs. The work platform did not have an identification plate or any other means to indicate its lifting capacity. The employer did not obtain prior written approval from powered industrial equipment manufactures or have the platform certified by a qualified Registered Professional Engineer. The following condition exposed the employee to fall hazards of over ten feet to the concreate floor.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.178(a)(5):If the truck is equipped with front-end attachments other than factory installed attachments, the user shall request that the truck be marked to identify the attachments and show the approximate weight of the truck and attachment combination at maximum elevation with load laterally centered.  a. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, the employer manufactured/fabricated a work platform used with powered industrial equipment throughout the facility. Employees were lifted in the work platform to close the lids on the blender equipment, to the ceiling of the facility to turn off breakers/repair heaters and to change light bulbs. The work platform did not have did not have any identification plate or any other means to indicate its capacity. The employer did not request form the manufacture or a qualified Registered Professional Engineer to update the powered industrial equipment's identification plate to show the combination of the approximate weight of the equipment and the work platform. The following condition exposed the employee to fall hazards of over 10 feet to the concreate floor.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $5,801 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.178(l)(1)(ii): Prior to permitting an employee to operate a powered industrial truck (except for training purposes), the employer shall ensure that each operator has successfully completed the training required by this paragraph (l), except as permitted by paragraph (l)(5).  a. On or about October 20, 2021, and at times prior, the employer did not ensure that employees successfully completed the required training and evaluation prior to allowing them to operate powered industrial equipment except for training purposes.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.178(l)(4)(iii):An evaluation of each powered industrial truck operator's performance shall be conducted at least once every three years.  a. On or about October 20, 2021, the employer did not evaluate each industrial truck operator's performance at least once every three years. The following condition exposed employees to struck-by hazards.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $5,801 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.178(p)(1):If at any time a powered industrial truck is found to be in need of repair, defective, or in any way unsafe, the truck shall be taken out of service until it has been restored to safe operating condition.  a. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, powered industrial equipment was found to need repair and was not taken out of service until the equipment was restored to a safe operating condition. A Komatsu AX50 Series Gasoline & LPG Forklift Truck Model Number: FH18SHT-20, Serial Number: 675209A was in operation that had been found to need repair. The forklift was found to have cracks and missing/lose nuts and bolts on the backrest/carriage attachment for the forks. The equipment was not taken out of service.  b. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, powered industrial equipment was found to need repair and was not taken out of service until the equipment was restored to a safe operating condition. A Komatsu AX50 Series Gasoline & LPG Forklift Truck Model Number: FH18SHT-20, Serial Number 675448A was in operation that had been found to need repair. The forklift was found be missing a seatbelt and to have a defective liquid petroleum gas (LPG) tank retention device. The equipment was not taken out of service.  c. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, powered industrial equipment was found to need repair and was not taken out of service until the equipment was restored to a safe operating condition. A Baoli KBG25C Forklift Model Number: KBG25, Serial Number: BIG010J00552 2018 was in operation that had been found to need repair. The forklift was found to have a defective horn. The equipment was not taken out of service.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.178(q)(7):Industrial trucks shall be examined before being placed in service, and shall not be placed in service if the examination shows any condition adversely affecting the safety of the vehicle. Such examination shall be made at least daily. Where industrial trucks are used on a round-the-clock basis, they shall be examined after each shift. Defects when found shall be immediately reported and corrected.  a. On or about October 20, 2021, and at times prior, the employer failed to ensure that powered industrial vehicle Komatsu AX50 Series Forklift Model Number: FH18SHT-20, Serial Number: 675209A was examined before being placed in service during each shift.  b. On or about October 20, 2021, and at times prior, the employer failed to ensure that powered industrial vehicle Komatsu AX50 Series Forklift Model Number: FH18SHT-20, Serial Number: 675448A was examined before being placed in service during each shift.  c. On or about October 20, 2021, and at times prior, the employer failed to ensure that powered industrial vehicle Baoli KBG25C Forklift Model Number: KBG25, Serial Number: BIG010J00552 2018 was examined before being placed in service during each shift.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $3,315 · Current $1,968 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 October 20, 2021 and at times prior, between machine lines one and two, employees were exposed to caught-in/struck-by hazards associated with unguarded rotating parts on a hydraulic power pack motor.

Issued

Feb 22, 2022

Abate by

Mar 8, 2022

Penalty

Initial $4,144 · Current $2,590 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.305(b)(1)(ii):Unused openings in cabinets, boxes, and fittings shall be effectively closed.  a. On or about October 20, 2021 and at times prior, located at line number 2, employees were exposed to electrical shock hazards due to an unused openings on the power panel boxes for equipment such as but not limited to, the air knife.