The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Miller Compressing Co. in Milwaukee with two willful safety violations for allowing employees to perform maintenance on a shredder without first isolating the machine’s energy source.
OSHA opened an inspection upon receiving a complaint alleging hazards at the company’s scrap processing facility. The agency is proposing fines totaling $70,000 for the alleged violations.
“Miller Compressing Co. has a responsibility to ensure that workers are properly protected from known workplace hazards – such as machinery becoming unintentionally energized during maintenance – that can result in amputations and other serious injuries,” said George Yoksas, OSHA’s area director in Milwaukee. “OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
Specifically, the willful violations are failing to lock out the electrical power source of a 7,000-horsepower shredder and have adequate energy control procedures in place for maintenance and servicing, OSHA said. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowledge or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health, the agency said.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
