Companies can get into trouble when the remove guarding and fail to put it back. But they can also find themselves facing OSHA fines if factory equipped guarding does not meet OSHA requirements.
Case in point, leading wood pallet recycler IFCO Systems has been in the process of changing the bandsaw guards on over 100 pallet dismantling machines since the beginning of 2010, but not the less was fined in Colorado. OSHA cited IFCO’s Henderson, Colorado facility with one repeat and five serious citations for improper machine guardings. A $50,000 penalty was issued for failure to provide adequate bandsaw guarding. Other infractions included lockout and noise. Total penalties amounted to $67,765. IFCO stressed that it had factory-installed guarding on the units that had not been modified.
The inspection was triggered under an OSHA program to target employers with high injury and illness rates. OSHA issued similar citations to IFCO locations in Smithville, Ohio, on July 12, 2006; Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 5, 2008; and Atlanta, Ga., on Oct. 8, 2010.
Mike Hachtman, Senior Vice President Sales and Business Development for IFCO Systems, commented to About.com that his company has been working on the bandsaw guarding issue with OSHA since 2009, collaborating with the Columbus, Ohio OSHA office to develop a better guarding system. He stressed that all of IFCO’s bandsaws have guards, either have the factory installed guarding, or the modified guarding that has been retrofitted on machines over the past year. “The band saw pallet dismantling machines in question were fitted with guarding installed by the machine manufacturer,” he said.
