After OSHA received an anonymous employee complaint about working conditions, inspectors visited A & D Wood Products, a company that manufactures pallets in Ohio. The inspection revealed that this employee had acted correctly in submitting a complaint, and the facility was full of accidents waiting to happen. Luckily none had occurred yet, and once these issues are fixed the chance of one happening will be significantly decreased.
Not only were employees forced to operate machinery without eye protection or safeguards around moving parts, but the facility was also full of significant accumulations of combustible wood dusts. Lockout procedures were not used, which could cause machinery to start during maintenance and creates an amputation and injury risk. Additionally, electrical cabinets were not closed and employees could have accidentally touched the live wires, or a spark from them could have ignited the wood dust.
OSHA’s area director explains why these issues are so important to address when she stated “A & D Wood Products operates a manufacturing shop that exposes workers to real hazards daily, creating an environment that forces workers to make a choice between their lives and their livelihood. With 27 violations, it’s clear the safety and health of its workforce is not a priority for them.”
A separate A & D Wood Products facility received the same citations in 2011, which means OSHA cited them for repeated violations. Repeat violations occur when an employee was already cited for the same violation at any other facility within the past five years.
OSHA also issued four willful violations, which included the citations for combustible wood dust. A company receives a willful violation when it is knows about a risk but disregards the steps to remedy the issue, putting their employees safety in jeopardy.
The OSHA inspectors also cited nineteen other serious violations, which are given when there is a high chance for death or serious injury to workers that the employer knew about or should have known about. In all, the company has been fined $113,540 in penalties, and has been placed in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
Read the full OSHA Press Release HERE
Employees concerned about their safety can anonymously ask questions, file a complaint, or report situations by calling OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321- OSHA (6742) or https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/complain.html
