The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 12 citations to the American Plant Food Corp. following an investigation of their Bartlett facility. These citations carried a $181,000 fine. The inspection came as a result of an injury suffered after a worker’s leg was entangled in an auger.

“This worker’s debilitating injury was preventable had the employer used certain safeguards,” said Casey Perkins, OSHA’s area director in Austin. “As an established company in this industry with long-term management in place, American Plant Food Corp. should not allow such dangerous workplace practices.”

The violations ranged from inadequate training regarding confined spaces to inadequate safeguards for machinery, to insufficient lockout tagout procedures. The charges levied against American Plant Food Corp. range the full spectrum of occupational safety and health, serving as a testament to the depth of an OSHA investigation. OSHA investigators are not limited in the scope of their investigation and will examine every aspect of your business.

This is why we recommend having routine third party safety audits held for your entire facility. It protects your entire company from potential violations and, should something occur, your potential violations will be much smaller. In an instance like this, a proper and routine third party auditing schedule would have eliminated the majority of these citations.

If you have any questions about third party safety audits and how they might help protect your company and its employees, please contact us. If you have anything to add about this case or about the benefits of third party safety audits, please leave a comment.