The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Roger Woods Foods Inc. for a fatal accident resulting from a lockout violation. OSHA fined the company's Savannah, Ga., plant $237,000 as a result of investigating the January 1999 accident. A maintenance worker was crushed by a mechanical meat vat dumper, which had not been locked out.
Roger Wood Foods, which has 220 workers who process sausages and other prepared meats, received 31 serious violations, including noise exposure, respirator use, walking/working surfaces, anhydrous ammonia process management, emergency response and electrical and fire hazards. The company also was cited for two willful violations for employee exposure to high levels of noise without hearing protection and inadequate lockout training.
A year earlier, Roger Wood Foods was cited for equipment lockout hazards. Other previous OSHA citations included noise protection violations, some involving contractors.