When OSHA finds multiple violations at a company, you can be sure the agency will be back, particularly if it receives a complaint about safety hazards.
OSHA has fined Dupont Yard Inc. of Homerville, GA, $179,388 for 14 citations, 8 of them repeat, after receiving a complaint alleging safety hazards.
Since 2010, the company has received 47 citations. OSHA previously placed it in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program which mandates follow-up inspections to ensure compliance. Companies generally remain a minimum of three years in the SVEP and can apply at that time to be released from the program.
The 8 repeat violations alone added up to $156,618. The repeat citations include:
- Floors of workrooms were not maintained in a clean and, so far as possible, dry condition
- Failure to ensure that each operator had successfully completed the training requirements for operating a powered industrial truck
- Elevated platforms, 4 feet or more from the floor level, were not provided with a standard railing
- Pull boxes, junction boxes and fittings were not provided with covers approved for the purpose, and
- A power cord used to run an air tank was improperly spliced, exposing employees to electrical shock hazards.
Among the serious citations OSHA issued to Dupont Yard was one under the General Duty Clause for not ensuring forklift operators used seatbelts.
The company was also cited for not training employees on how to use fire extinguishers.
“Every day, Dupont Yard employees are being put at risk of serious injury, including amputations, burns or blindness, and in some cases even death,” said Robert Vazzi, director of OSHA’s Savannah Area Office.
Dupont Yard has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Going before OSHRC could include a hearing by an administrative law judge.
Dupont Yard manufactures posts for agricultural projects and produces timber and wood chips.
