Bridgford Foods Fined $212K for Endangering Workers in Chicago

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued the Bridgford Foods Processing Corp. facility in Chicago, Ill., 10 safety citations for failing to implement and provide training for workers on lockout/tagout procedures, thereby exposing them to energized equipment. The meat processing plant is facing proposed penalties of $212,000.

As a result of a July 2010 OSHA inspection, Bridgford Foods Processing has been issued one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $70,000, for allowing workers to remove a shovel stuck in an auger screw conveyor without locking or tagging out the auger, placing employees in danger of the machine operating while they worked to remove the shovel.

Bridgford Foods Processing also has been issued six repeat citations, with proposed fines of $135,000, for having locked exit doors, failing to provide lockout/tagout or electrical safety training, failing to provide a load backrest extension on a powered industrial truck to minimize the hazard of material falling and failing to specifically outline energy control procedures.

Additionally, two serious citations have been issued for failing to perform periodic energy control inspections and to maintain unobstructed exit routes. Those citations carry penalties of $7,000.

One other-than-serious citation has been issued for failing to properly illuminate exit signs. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

Bridgford Foods’ Chicago facility has been inspected by OSHA three times since November 2007, resulting in 29 health and safety citations. The company is headquartered in Anaheim, Calif., and also operates two factories in Dallas, Texas, and one in Statesville, N.C.

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.

Source: OSHA