Chicago Container Manufacturer Faces $503K in OSHA Penalties
September 26, 2017
A Chicago manufacturer of rigid metal, plastic, and hybrid containers faces $503,380 in proposed penalties after inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) responded to four separate reports of workers suffering injuries at the facility, the federal agency announced.
As a result of its investigations, OSHA cited BWAY Corporation for five repeated and five serious safety violations of machine safety procedures, and placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. In the past five years, 15 workers suffered amputations at the Chicago plant.
OSHA found one employee suffered two broken bones in his hand after it was crushed by a piece of equipment. Three other employees suffered amputations from unguarded chain and sprocket assemblies.
The agency issued repeated citations for failing to train workers in lockout/tagout procedures that prevent unintentional machine movement, and inadequate machine guarding on a mechanical power press, belts and pulleys, and chains and sprockets. The five serious citations involve failing to lockout equipment prior to clearing jams and inadequate machine guarding on multiple pieces of equipment.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the company has 27 facilities and about 4,000 employees in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico – with about 500 employees in Chicago.
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.
About BWAY
For more than a century, BWAY has offered packaging solutions for large manufacturers, container distributors and small businesses. Today, we are a market leader in the general line packaging industry by providing rigid metal and plastic containers across North America.
Our rigid metal containers include paint cans, steel pails, aerosol cans, F-style containers, monotop cans, pour top cans, ammunition boxes and an oil can. We also manufacture rigid plastic packaging including pails, drums, and hybrid paint cans.
Approximately 75 percent of our business comprises general line packaging used by industrial manufacturers. Roughly 20 percent of our containers are allocated to food products. The remaining five percent accounts for production of ammunition boxes.
BWAY has annual sales exceeding $1 billion. We have approximately 3,000 dedicated, well-trained employees who deliver exceptional products to customers. Our organization maintains modern, well-capitalized manufacturing facilities that are geographically aligned to ensure fast order fulfillment and superior customer service.