The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) found that a Lafayette, Ga., insulation manufacturer ignored safety standards following an investigation into a worker's injury last year, the DOL announced Monday.
Bonded Logic, Inc., has been issued citations for 14 violations (two willful, two repeated, and 10 serious), after a 21-year-old line operator suffered severe head trauma after getting caught in a machine's roller Aug. 24, the agency reports. The DOL's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigators "willfully failed to develop and use lockout/tagout procedures to prevent machines from sudden starts or movements during maintenance, and did not control the release of stored energy while machines were serviced." proposed $423,432 in penalties.
OSHA identified repeat violations based on the company not installing safety guards and failing to certify forklift operators. OSHA also cited Bonded Logic for failing to conduct an evaluation to identify permit-required confined spaces and develop and implement a permit-required confined space program; train employees on the hazard associated with permit-required confined space and complete entry permits prior to entering those spaces; ensure energy control devices were applied to all energy sources during maintenance or servicing; and maintain proper guarding of chains and sprockets on machinery.
“Bonded Logic put profits before safety and now a young worker must cope with the aftermath of a horrible and preventable injury,” OSHA Area Office Director Jeffery Stawowy said in the announcement. “The employer’s failure to develop and ensure the use of lockout procedures for employees who work near and perform maintenance on dangerous machinery is hard to comprehend.”
The company faces a proposed $423,432 in penalties for this latest incident, the announcement state.OSHA previously inspected Bonded Logic in 2018 and 2021, issuing three violations (three serious, five other-than-serious) for hazards associated with eye protection, machine guarding, housekeeping, powered industrial trucks, and confined space.
