Adam Harringa, Austin Daily Herald, Minn. –
OSHA has slapped Quality Pork Processors in Austin with three safety violations.
The violations, which the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration has deemed “serious,” will cost QPP $11,900 in fines. OSHA issued all three on July 31 after an April 6 inspection, and categorized them under “control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout).” The Austin slaughterhouse contested the violations on Aug. 9.
According to OSHA, lockout/tagout violations occur when workers don’t properly disable machines between use or before maintenance.
According to OSHA’s website, the last time it filed a complaint with QPP was in 2008. QPP’s website claims its injury rates and workday incident rate are well below the meat industry average.
QPP President and CEO Kelly Wadding did not return calls for comment Thursday morning. QPP is a private company which employs 1,300 people and processes 19,000 hogs per day, providing Hormel Foods Corp. with more than 50 percent of its pork, according to QPP’s website. It was founded in 1989.
