Lack of LOTO Causes Employee Injury; Leads to OSHA Inspection and $370K in Penalties

A recent OSHA investigation found that a plastic packaging manufacturer – with a history of workplace safety and health inspections – could have prevented a worker at its facility from suffering severe burns if they had complied with OSHA’s requirements for lockout/tagout and provided personal protective equipment.

Investigators determined that a worker for Berry Global Inc. was sprayed with hot liquid plastic as they changed a screen on a plastic bag extruder machine.

In the last five years, OSHA has inspected Berry Global Inc. in various U.S. locations more than 40 times. These inspections include two fatality inspections related to lockout/tagout violations. The company has contested both inspections.

Following its inspection, OSHA found that the company failed to establish and use lockout/tagout procedures or eliminate employee’s exposure to protect workers from the extruder machine while they serviced or maintained it, did not train workers in lockout/tagout procedures, and did not conduct periodic inspections to ensure procedures were followed. OSHA also found that the company did not provide appropriate personal protective equipment to ensure that employees were protected when servicing the extruder.

OSHA cited Berry Global Inc. for two willful violations and one repeat violation and has proposed $369,815 in penalties.

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