April 2, 2011
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced today that it cited the West Trenton, NJ location of a major bearing manufacturer with safety violations for exposing workers to dangerous working conditions.
According to the OSHA press release, the citations are the result of violations found in a November 2010 inspection of RBC -West Trenton, a division of the international RBC Bearings Inc., as part of the agency’s Site-Specific Targeting Program aimed at high injury industries.
The 19 serious violations, which OSHA issues when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known, include:
- Failure to conduct a hazard assessment,
- Failure to provide employees with chemical splash goggles and safety goggles,
- Failure to develop a lockout/tagout program for energy sources,
- Failure to perform required inspections on powered industrial vehicles,
- Failure to perform required inspections of hoist chains and hooks,
- Failure to properly guard machinery,
- Failure to properly mount electrical equipment,
- And, failure to label a chemical drum with a required warning.
OSHA also cited RBC -West Trenton for two other-than-serious violations, those the agency feels have a direct relationship to job safety and health but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm, for failure to completed OSHA’s log of work related injuries and illnesses, and for live light fixtures without bulb or cover.
“Many of the identified violations leave workers exposed to hazards that can cause injury and possible death,” said Paula Dixon-Roderick, OSHA’s area director in Marlton, in a release. “It is vital that the company abate these hazards as soon as possible to ensure a safe work environment for its employees.”
RBC Bearings Inc. is an international manufacturer of bearings for applications including aerospace, defense, mining, oil derricks, robotics and animation, high-speed trains, recreational vehicles, construction equipment and wind turbines. The West Trenton location employs 112 people.
OSHA has proposed penalties of $88,200 for the violations. The company has 15 days to comply or contest the citations.
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