OSHA Fines Austin Area Manufacturer $459,618

Update: Although this major OSHA fine occurred in 2017, similar fines continue to be issued to Texas manufacturers who fail to keep up with OSHA health and safety compliance.

Checkout the details of this enforcement action and helpful safety compliance resources at the bottom of this blog.

OSHA announced this week that they fined an Austin area manufacturer a total of $459,918 for a long list of health and safety violations. This is one of the largest single OSHA fines we’ve ever seen, anywhere and for any industry, and it happened to an Austin area manufacturer.

This is a stark reminder that the 78% OSHA fine increases that went into effect last August are in full effect, and that non-compliant companies face huge fines and penalties for failing to implement and manage health and safety programs.

The company faces a total of $186,506 in fines for 20 Safety related violations, and a total of $273,918 in fines for 29 Health related violations. Not only is the fine amount significant, but the total of 49 citations will be very difficult to address and correct. Keep in mind that once a company gets fined, “the clock starts ticking” to fix the problems, and if they’re not remediated by the appointed deadlines, the problems could only get worse for the company.

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Here is a summary of some of the major citations. These are common OSHA violations that many companies have in their workplace and struggle to properly manage:

“Serious” Safety Citations:

Housekeeping issues that created slips/trips/falls and ergonomic hazards: $5,432
Transferring flammable liquids from 55 gal drums to smaller containers without appropriate safe guards: $5432
Flammable vapors near gas ovens created ignition hazard: $12,675
Transferring flammable liquids between containers without nozzle and containers being electrically interconnected: $12,675
Combustible wastes not stored in appropriate containers or disposed of daily: $10,864
Failure to implement and manage a Permit Required Confined Space Program: $12,675
Lockout/Tagout violation: Tags failed to identify employee applying LOTO devices: $5,432
Lockout/Tagout violation: LOTO devices not affixed to energy sources by authorized employees: $9,054
Failure to train employees for forklift use: $5,432
Multiple Machine Guarding Violations: $34,404
Fan power cord plug missing ground prong: $7,234
Power cord strain relief violations: $7,234
“Repeat” LOTO audit violation: $45,270

“Serious” Health Citations:

Failure to train employees on proper PPE use for Hearing Conservation Program: $9,054
Failure to provide PPE to employees: $5,432
Failure to conduct Hazard Assessments per PPE standard: $5,432
Failure to provide PPE/Respirators to employees to protect from respirable silica dust: $12,675
Failure to implement and manage a filter cartridge change schedule per Respiratory Protection Program: $9,054
Failure to conduct compliant fit testing for respirators: $12,675
Failure to provide hand protection PPE: $7,234
Failure to implement administrative and engineering controls to protect employees from inhalation hazards: $12,675
Failure to conduct health exposure testing, 2 citations: $10,864
Failure to properly label secondary chemical containers: $7,243
Failure to inform employees and provide PPE to protect from various chemical hazards: $10,864
“Willful” violation for exposing employees to excessive levels of respirable silica dust: $12,674

To view all of the violations click below:

Safety Violations

Health Violations

If you are a Texas manufacturer without a safety program or are unsure of the status of your OSHA compliance program you remain vulnerable to these major fines and penalties.

If this sounds familiar, take action before it’s too late. Here are some resources designed to educate and get you on track:

How To Build A Safety Program From Scratch

How To Prepare for an OSHA Inspection

How To Build an OSHA Training Program

Call 512-457-0374 or Click Here

To Schedule Your Free OSHA Compliance Consultation

By Russell Carr|2022-03-21T12:51:15-05:00May 4th, 2017|Government Regulation, OSHA Texas Laws & Regulations, Safety Training, Texas OSHA Compliance|Comments Off

About the Author: Russell Carr

How A Sales Guy Transformed Into An Environmental, Health & Safety Expert & Advocate For Small Businesses I've spent my entire 30+ year career working within the manufacturing and “industrial services” sectors. The first 15 years of my career focused on sales of hazardous materials related products and services to the manufacturing sector, then for the last 16+ years transitioned into entrepreneurship, founding 3 small industrial services related contracting businesses. As you’ll see below, running these companies eventually lead me to found yet a 4th business, but more on that in a minute…. Here’s a brief description of the first 3 companies: Berg Environmental Services, Inc.: hazardous waste disposal & transportation services, founded in August of 2003 3rd party wind energy operations & maintenance services provider to utility scale wind farms throughout the US, founded in September 2007 3rd party oil & gas exploration & production services provider, founded in August of 2011 Each of these companies operated in extremely dangerous working conditions and exposed my employees to a wide range of serious health & safety hazards on a daily basis. To complicate matters, 2 of the companies also exposed the environment to significant potential harm. In other words, I learned very early the critical importance of managing environmental, health and safety issues so as to ensure the safety of our employees and the environment, as well as minimizing related risks. But I also learned how incredibly difficult and challenging this endeavor can be due to the wide range of complicated and continually changing environmental, health and safety rules and regulations that impacted the companies. To summarize the challenges: First I had to determine which regulations applied to each company, then I had to build compliance programs to meet those regulations, and finally I had to ensure that the programs were being managed and followed by our staff on a daily basis. All while trying to run and grow 3 profitable businesses…. It was overwhelming and I always struggled to keep up. To make matters worse, throughout this time I also witnessed the devastating price that companies, management and ownership can pay for failing to manage EHS compliance. This included seeing one of my hazardous waste management clients get sent to jail over environmental issues, another client’s management team threatened with jail time, a direct competitor get fined $378,000 by OSHA fine after an employee was nearly killed, and many others face major fines and penalties. Full disclosure, one of my companies got fined by OSHA at one point, & another was cited by TCEQ, so I know how it feels. In summary, I learned first hand how incredibly difficult it is for small companies to manage EHS compliance due to a common lack of the critical expertise, time and resources that are needed to keep up, and how this situation then ends up exposing them to these potentially catastrophic risks that can literally destroy lives and businesses. This later inspired me to found my 4th company, Berg Compliance Solutions in 2012, which is dedicated to helping other small businesses, and business owners, to manage EHS compliance and risk. Education BA, Philosophy, University of Colorado, Boulder, December, 1990. Summary of Professional Experience & Qualifications: 30+ years serving the manufacturing & industrial services sectors 30+ years of sales and marketing experience 16+ years as small business owner & entrepreneur: Founded and operated 4 small businesses since 2003. Environmental, Health & Safety Compliance & Program Related: 19 plus years of hazardous waste management including EPA, TCEQ & RCRA regulations 8 years of DOT/FMCSA compliance experience, including hazardous materials transportation 8 years of combined experience implementing and managing OSHA health and safety compliance programs for 2 high risk energy services businesses Successfully implemented and gained ISO 9001 Quality Management Certification and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health & Safety Advisory Service) Certification for wind energy maintenance business. Regulatory Enforcement Related Experience: Served as expert witness in criminal environmental compliance enforcement cases Superfund-CERCLA OSHA enforcement inspections, investigations and resolution in following industries: industrial services, manufacturing & construction. TCEQ enforcement inspections, investigations and resolution in manufacturing.

OSHA Fines Austin Area Manufacturer $459,618