Eye on OSHA: First Quarter 2011 (Revised, July 11)

NOTE: The following report is revised from a May 16 original. To learn why, check the editor’s blog on the subject.

OSHA records show 64 inspection reports for stone fabricators/manufacturers in first-quarter (1Q) 2011, a decline of 45.7% from 118 inspections noted at the same time in 2010. OSHA teams wrote up violations at 36 inspections,in 1Q 2011 – far less than the 70 written up at the same time last year.

Inspectors also found a lot less to tag overall with fabricators in 2011. While 1Q 2010 turned up 370 individual violations, the total dropped to 160 for this year’s first three months. (And, 15 of those violations came at one facility.)

Not surprisingly, OSHA fines for stone shops dropped this year, with $259,817 in initial penalties and $141,278 in current fines due (initial fines are often reduced); last year, the first three months saw $328,800 in initial fines and $202,650 after review. (There are additional failure-to-abate, or FTA, fines for 1Q 2010 of $74,700 that came later last year or early this year.)

OSHA by the Numbers
January-March 2011
NAICS 327991 (Cut stone and stone product manufacturing)

Number of inspections (reports): 64
Inspections with violations: 36
Total violations cited: 160
Largest number of violations at one inspection: 15
Companies not found/inactive: 19
Planned inspections: 32
Follow-up inspections: 5
Referral inspections: 4
Complaint inspections: 22
Initial fines: $259,817
Current fines:: $141,278
States with inspections: 25
Top three states (number of inspections): Florida (9), Colorado (8), Pennsylvania (5).

Eye on OSHA is an ongoing Stone Business review of inspection reports from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), operating under the federal Department of Labor. Not all violations entail fines; pending fines may be lowered or dropped if conditions are remedied or upon appeal. Source of data: OSHA databases.