The U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) and Mar-Jac Poultry have reached a settlement following an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) into Mar-Jac’s failure to follow required safety procedures that would have prevented a teenaged sanitation worker from being killed while cleaning a machine in its Hattiesburg, Miss., processing plant in July 2023.
The poultry processor will pay $164,814 in fines and be required to implement enhanced safety measures to protect employees — in addition to abating all violations cited by OSHA in its previous investigation of the incident.
The fatal incident occurred when a 16-year-old sanitation contract worker was performing a deep cleaning of the deboning area of the plant and got caught in the rotating shaft and sprockets of a still-energized piece of equipment. Lockout/tagout procedures were not implemented, the machine’s power source was not disconnected and a lockout/tagout device was not used, according to the OSHA investigation.
The latest settlement requires Mar-Jac Poultry to add another properly trained supervisor to the sanitation shift, update worker training on lockout/tagout requirements and machine-guarding hazards, and institute a system for assigning, identifying and issuing locks to employees performing these functions. The plant is required to perform monthly lockout/tagout safety audits for the sanitation shift for one year, and report to OSHA on those audits and on any steps Mar-Jac is taking to reduce hazards.
In addition, the company needs to conduct a lockout/tagout risk and hazard assessment for the sanitation shift, including an evaluation of the current procedures and review of any dangerous incidents, injuries or near misses.
Lastly, the plant manager and safety director must complete OSHA’s 30-hour general industry training, while plant supervisors must complete the administration’s 10-hour training.
OSHA believes the enhanced supervision and increased training required in the settlement will minimize the risks faced by Mar-Jac Poultry employees in the plant.
