John’s Disposal Service Inc. and John’s Recycling Inc., a Franksville, Wisconsin, waste management company, faces $367,401 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a temporary maintenance worker suffered severe injuries when their jacket sleeve was pulled into an engine as they serviced a vehicle, the agency announced July 18.

OSHA cited the company with five repeat, five serious, and three other-than-serious violations. Agency investigators determined the employer hadn’t ensured energy control (lockout/tagout) procedures were in place and used before the worker began servicing the vehicle.

During its accident investigation, OSHA also opened two follow-up inspections to verify whether the employer had corrected hazards the agency cited in 2023. 

The agency cited the two companies, which operate as a single entity, with two serious lockout/tagout violations. OSHA also cited the company for failures found during a 2023 investigation:

• Not providing fall protection on an elevated platform
• Failing to train forklift operators
• Not providing hazard communication training

OSHA’s hazard communication, powered industrial trucks, and lockout/tagout standards are among the agency’s most frequently cited standards, OSHA announced last fall. The hazard communication standard (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §1910.1200) is the agency’s second most cited standard overall and most cited general industry standard. OSHA cited 3,213 violations in fiscal year (FY) 2023. The powered industrial trucks standard (§1910.178), cited 2,561 times in FY 2023, is the agency’s fifth most cited, and the lockout/tagout standard (§1910.147), cited 2,554 times in FY 2023, is its sixth most cited.

“A worker suffered severe injuries because their employer failed to implement an effective safety and health program and develop specific energy control procedures to protect workers conducting repairs on vehicles,” Dustin Schnipke, OSHA’s Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area office director, said in an agency statement.

Ink and coatings manufacturer cited after worker burned in flash fire

Wikoff Color Corp., a global ink and coatings manufacturing company, faces $183,207 in OSHA penalties after an employee in its Lisbon, Wisconsin, facility suffered burn injuries from a flash fire, the agency announced July 18.

OSHA cited Wikoff Color with 12 serious violations.

Agency investigators found the employer failed to comply with federal regulations for the handling of highly hazardous chemicals, resulting in a flash fire that erupted in an industrial mixing vessel containing flammable liquids and vapors. Investigators determined a flash fire sparked in the mixing vessel as the employee manually added combustible powder ingredients. Inspectors found the flames exited the vessel’s charging port and caused the employee to sustain first- and second-degree burns.

The agency cited Wikoff Color with multiple violations of process safety management requirements related to the safe handling of highly hazardous chemicals, including flammable liquids. It also found that the company failed to provide employees with effective training on the hazards of flammable liquids and combustible dust and exposed workers to fall hazards.

“A worker suffered severe and painful injuries needlessly because Wikoff Color Corp. did not follow federal safety and health regulations designed to protect workers when handling highly hazardous chemicals,” Schnipke said in another statement.