OSHA Settles With Alliance; Halves Fine

Alliance Laundry Systems, Ripon, WI, recently reached a settlement of citations brought by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) following an incident in which an employee lost a finger last summer, the third such injury in less than a year.

“OSHA’s primary goal is correcting hazards and maintaining compliance, rather than issuing citations or collecting penalties,” said Scott Allen, regional director of public affairs for the U.S. Dept. of Labor, according to a news report. “OSHA is pleased with the settlement agreement and Alliance Laundry’s commitment to improve the safety and health of its employees on the job.”

As a result of the settlement, OSHA reduced the proposed fine for Alliance from $124,709 to $63,354. Alliance, in turn, agreed to implement several safety improvements at its Ripon plant, the report said. The classification of the citations also was reduced from “willful” to “repeat” violations.

Alliance agreed to hire more staff to oversee safety at the facility, send employees to safety training seminars, analyze the plant’s injury risks and take other steps aimed at preventing injuries in the future.

Jon Mathews, director of North American marketing for Alliance, said that the company recently hired a safety director to oversee safety issues and that the incidents should remind every employee of the need for safety vigilance and compliance with all safety procedures whenever they’re on the job.

“This accident, while unfortunate, is not reflective of that culture of safety we have cultivated,” Mathews said. “We will continue to fine tune and redesign any process or procedure, where necessary, to perpetuate the culture of safety we have fostered.” Click here, or on the link above for details.