Lumber company fined nearly $2 million for egregious safety violations including exposing workers to amputation and fall hazards

OSHA fined Phenix Lumber Co. and its principal, John M. Dudley, for egregious and other safety violations at the company's Phenix City, Ala., facility, including exposing employees to amputation and fall hazards. Prior to these citations, Phenix Lumber was cited 77 times by OSHA for serious safety and health violations since 2007.

“Phenix Lumber continues to put workers at risk by choosing not to implement safety measures that would prevent serious injuries to their employees,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

OSHA began an inspection Dec. 15, 2010, in response to a complaint that employees working in the planer mill were exposed to amputation hazards while maintaining, cleaning and clearing jams on pieces of machinery that did not have their energy sources locked out to prevent their unexpected start up. Two months later, OSHA received a second complaint that an employee had suffered a partial finger amputation while clearing a piece of machinery that had not been locked out. At the opening of an inspection following the second complaint, the compliance officer learned of another employee who had just suffered a severe hand injury while working on unguarded machinery. Phenix Lumber had been cited numerous times during the past four years for allowing employees to work on unguarded machinery while it was operating.

OSHA issued Phenix Lumber citations for willful violations that included failing to properly shut down and lock out machinery before employees were required to perform tasks such as clearing jams and cleaning. These failures exposed employees to amputation hazards, as well as to the possibility of being caught between or struck by pieces of the machinery and falling lumber. The employer also failed to train employees who performed this work on the hazards and how to shut down and lock out the machinery so that they could perform their tasks safely. In addition, OSHA found that the employer willfully exposed a worker to fall hazards while working from the top of a machine, failed to issue locks to employees as required by the lockout standard, and failed to follow established lockout/tagout procedures.

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