OSHA cites The Scoular Company for exposing workers to grain dust, fall hazards at Kansas site

Employer name: The Scoular Company
516 E Newton St., Tribune, Kansas 67879                           

Citations issued: May 2, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Wichita Area Office cited The Scoular Company for one repeat and four serious violations. The citations are the result of a December 2015 investigation initiated under OSHA’s Local Emphasis Program for Grain Handling hazards.

The inspection found:

• Workers exposed to fall hazards 10-24 feet from ladderway openings and platforms lacking guardrails and open-sided work platforms.
• Employees exposed to grain dust explosion hazards. The employer failed to implement housekeeping procedures to prevent grain dust accumulation in priority and non-priority areas.
• Housekeeping procedures did not address removing grain and other products spills form the work area exposing workers to tripping hazards.

Quote: “Grain dust accumulation must be controlled to prevent a fuel source in bins from igniting in proximity to operating conveyors, augers and other equipment,” said Judy Freeman, OSHA’s area director in Wichita. “OSHA grain handling standards address the numerous serious and life threatening hazards found in grain bins including grain dust explosions, engulfment and entrapment from flowing grain, falls and amputation hazards. These common sense safety standards protect workers on the job in this hazardous industry.”

Proposed Penalties:  $47,300

View Citations here.

Based in Omaha, Nebraska, The Scoular Company operates more than 130 independent business units where 1,200 workers are engaged in buying, selling, storing, handling, and processing grain and ingredients as well as managing transportation and logistics worldwide. The company was founded in 1892 and had nearly $6 billion in sales during fiscal year 2015.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Wichita Area Office at 316-269-6644.