Not Again! OSHA Seeks $262K After Worker Is Badly Hurt

OSHA has proposed that a Wisconsin baking facility operator pay nearly $263,000 in penalties following its investigation into an injury suffered by an employee at the plant.

The investigation marked the second time since 2019 that the federal safety watchdog agency opened an investigation into potential safety-related issues at Minnesota-based Pan-O-Gold Baking Company’s Wisconsin facility.

In the earlier case, the agency concluded that the employer exposed workers to hazards when it did not follow proper lockout/tagout procedures for machines.  Workers suffered amputation and laceration injuries, OSHA said. It added that the company’s injury rates were much higher than the national average for commercial bakeries.

OSHA cites training, reporting issues

In the new case, OSHA said the employer did not meet its duty to report an injury suffered by an employee who was hurt when a bread pattern forming machine suddenly started running while he was adjusting a sensor.

The agency’s press release on the incident did not specify the precise nature of the injuries that the employee suffered, though it described them as “disabling” and “life-altering.”

After investigating, OSHA cited the employer for two repeat violations relating to the proper use of lockout/tagout and energy control procedures.

Additional violations

It tacked on another six serious and two other-than-serious violations.

Those other violations related specifically to:

• Lack of proper training of employees
• Lack of adequate machine guarding
• Use of hand protection
• Proper and complete injury reporting
• Reporting of employee hospitalization.

In total, the agency proposed $262,963 in penalties.

OSHA director weighs in

“Pan-O-Gold Baking Company could have prevented this employee from suffering life-altering injuries by implementing required safety procedures to stop the machine from unexpectedly starting up as he tried to adjust the sensor,” OSHA Area Director Chad Greenwood said in the release. “Instead, this worker and his family are now forced to face an uncertain future and the personal and financial struggles that come with suffering disabling injuries and being unable to return to work.”

The company has the right to contest OSHA’s findings and has reportedly said it will do so.

Message to HR: Ensure proper safety training

Two of the violations found by OSHA related to employee training.

First, OSHA said authorized employees did not receive training relating to the recognition of applicable hazardous energy sources as well as the type and magnitude of energy in the workplace and the methods and means needed for energy control and isolation.

Second, it said affected employees did not receive proper instruction related to energy control procedures.

HR pros should step back and look at the big picture when it comes to keeping workers safe on the job by doing their best to create a workplace culture of safety.

Expert provides tips

As workplace safety expert Todd Piett has explained, employers should be proactive in:

• Keeping staff informed about emergency management guidelines
• Providing information about the notification modalities that will be used if a crisis occurs
• Making sure there are smooth transitions relating to safety policies and responsibilities when key personnel leave or new employees arrive.

Piett says it’s important for employers to ask themselves these safety-related questions:

• Are my building security systems up to date?
• Do we have a dedicated safety officer who regularly meets with an executive team?
• Do we have an integrated approach to safety and security as well as a proactive emergency management strategy?
• Are we using up-to-date methods to communicate as needed in an emergency?
• Do we have automated workflow and reporting solutions in place?
• Are we ready to balance emergency response and recovery efforts at once?
• Do we have a plan in place for debriefing if a crisis takes place?

“Safety is not a one-and-done task,” Priett says. “It is an intrinsic part of a company’s DNA.”