OSHA Inspection: BANNER WHOLESALE GROCERS

Issued

Jun 22, 2022

Abate by

Aug 19, 2022

Penalty

Initial $13,052 · Current $8,000 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 struck by hazards associated with inadequately maintained and labeled racking systems.  a) Warehouse Area - On or about April 8, 2022, the employer did not ensure that the four level Steel King 3000 storage rack system with multiple bays to store pallets of material displayed plaques with load rated loads.  b) Warehouse Area - On or about April 8, 2022, the employer did not ensure that the Steel King 3000 storage rack system with visible damage were immediately isolated until the damaged portions were evaluated by a storage rack design professional and were not placed back into service until repaired and certification was obtained that  the repaired components of the storage rack system were restored to at least original design capacity.   Employees were exposed to struck-by hazards while working in and around the damaged storage rack system.  ABATEMENT NOTE:    Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable method to correct the hazards noted are to follow the manufacturer's installation instructions and/or conform with installation and assembly instructions and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard MH16.l-2012: Specifications for the Design, Testing and Utilization of Industrial Steel Storage Racks, which includes, among others, the following:         a.  Section 1.4.2 Plaque:  The employer is responsible for displaying in one or more conspicuous locations permanent plaque(s).  Each plaque shall have an area of not less than 50 inches.  Plaques shall show in clear, legible print (a) the maximum permissible unit load and/or maximum uniformly distributed load per level, (b) the average unit load, and (c) maximum total load per bay.        b.   Section 1.4.9 Rack Damage:    The employer is responsible for ensuring that racks are inspected for damage and the pertinent portions of the rack shall be immediately isolated by the user until the damaged portions were evaluated by a storage rack design professional and not placed back into service until repaired and certification obtained that the repaired components of the rack system have been restored to at least their original design capacity.

Issued

Jun 22, 2022

Penalty

Initial $9,324 · Current $5,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.37(a)(3): Exit route was not kept free and unobstructed.   a)  On or about April 8, 2022, in the warehouse, a fire exit door was obstructed by material which would prevent the safe and orderly evacuation of employees in the event of a fire or emergency.

Issued

Jun 22, 2022

Abate by

Jul 19, 2022

Penalty

Initial $13,052 · Current $8,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.178(l)(1)(i): The employer did not ensure that each powered industrial truck operator is competent to operate a powered industrial truck safely, as demonstrated by the successful completion of the training and evaluation specified in this paragraph (l).   a) On or about April 8, 2022, facility wide, the employer did not ensure that all employees who operate forklifts were properly trained, evaluated and certified to perform the tasks in a safe manner, thereby exposing employees to struck-by hazards.

Issued

Jun 22, 2022

Abate by

Jul 19, 2022

Penalty

Initial $1,865 · Current $1,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1904.29(b)(1):   A Log of all recordable work-related injuries and illnesses (OSHA Form 300 or equivalent), was not completed in detail as required by the regulation:   a)  On or about April 8, 2022, Banner Wholesale Grocers failed to record workplace injuries in detail as required by the regulation on the OSHA 300 Log for calendar years 2019, 2020, 2021 and concurrent 2022.