OSHA Inspection: SOUTHERN FOREST INDUSTRIES, INC.

Issued

Jun 2, 2025

Abate by

Jul 7, 2025

Penalty

Initial $16,550 · Current $16,550

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.147(c)(4)(i): Procedures were not developed, documented and utilized for the control of potentially hazardous energy when employees were engaged in activities covered by this section.  a) Production Sorter Bay Area: On or about December 5, 2024, the employer exposed employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards due to the inadvertent start-up or release of energy, in that; the employer failed to ensure that each employee utilized the Sorter Lock Out/Tag Out Procedure before conducting servicing and maintenance activities on the Sorter machine.

Issued

Jun 2, 2025

Abate by

Jun 27, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.147(c)(8):Lockout/ tagout was not performed by the authorized employee(s) who were performing the servicing or maintenance.  a) Production Sorter Bay Area: On or about December 5, 2024, the employer exposed employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards due to the inadvertent start-up or release of energy, in that; the employer failed to ensure that lockout or tagout was performed by the employee conducting servicing and maintenance activities on the Sorter machine.

Issued

Jun 2, 2025

Abate by

Jun 27, 2025

Penalty

Initial $8,276 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.147(f)(3)(ii)(D):Each authorized employee shall affix a personal lockout or tagout device to the group lockout device, group lockbox, or comparable mechanism when he or she begins work, and shall remove those devices when he or she stops working on the machine or equipment being serviced or maintained:  a) Production Sorter Bay Area: On or about December 5, 2024, the employer exposed employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards due to the inadvertent start-up or release of energy, in that; the employer failed to ensure that each employee conducting servicing and maintenance activities on the Sorter machine affixed a personal lock to a group lockout device.

Issued

Jun 2, 2025

Abate by

Jun 27, 2025

Penalty

Initial $11,585 · Current $11,585

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(4)(ii): The energy control procedures did not clearly and specifically outline the scope, purpose, authorization, rules, and techniques to be utilized for the control of hazardous energy, including, but not limited to items (a) through (d) of this section:   a) Production Sorter Bay Area: On or about December 5, 2024, the employer exposed employees to hazards, in that; the employer did not ensure the Sorter Lock Out/Tag Out Procedure clearly identified all specific steps to relieve the hazardous pneumatic energy and specific verification steps to determine the effectiveness of the energy control measures prior to servicing or maintaining the machine.

Issued

Jun 2, 2025

Abate by

Jun 27, 2025

Penalty

Initial $11,585 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(5)(ii)(D): Lockout devices and tagout devices did not indicate the identity of the employee applying the device(s):  a) Production Area: On or about December 5, 2024,  the employer exposed employees to caught-in and struck-by hazards, in that; the lockout device and tagout device did not indicate the identity of the employee applying the devices on the Sorter machine , exposing employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards.

Issued

Jun 2, 2025

Abate by

Jun 27, 2025

Penalty

Initial $11,585 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(d): The established procedure for the application of energy control (the lockout or tagout procedures) covered the following elements, however, the actions were not done in sequence as required by 29 CFR 1910.147 (d)(1)-(6):   a) Production Sorter Bay Area: On or about December 5, 2024, the employer exposed employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards, in that; the employer did not ensure the employees applied the LOTO devices before employees conducted servicing and maintenance activities on the Sorter machine. As a result, the remaining applicable energy control elements, involving machine stored energy [(d)(5)] and verification of isolation [(d)(6)], were not implemented to safeguard employees from the machine servicing hazards.

Issued

Jun 2, 2025

Abate by

Jun 27, 2025

Penalty

Initial $11,585 · Current $8,110 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.147(c)(6)(i): The employer did not conduct a periodic inspection of the energy control procedure at least annually to ensure that the procedure and the requirement of this standard were being followed:  a) Production Sorter Bay Area: On or about December 5, 2024, the employer exposed employees to struck by and caught-in hazards, in that; the employer did not ensure a periodic inspection of the Sorter LOTO Procedure for the Sorter machine was performed.

Issued

Jun 2, 2025

Abate by

Jun 27, 2025

Penalty

Initial $11,585 · Current $8,110 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.265(c)(4)(iv):Elevated platform(s), 4 feet or more from the floor level, were not provided with a standard railing:  a) Production Sorter Bay Area: On or about December 5, 2024, the employer did not ensure employees operating and clearing jams or faults at the Sorter Bay machine were protected from fall hazards of  approximately 16 feet above the ground.