A federal agency has cited the Corbi Plastics’ service centre in Fremont for three serious forklift-related safety violations.

Region 5 of the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the citations last month and called for penalties totaling USD18,900. The agency within the US Department of Labor opened the Corbi case with an August inspection and a review of July operations at the Ohio centre.

OSHA says Corbi improperly mounted a front-end attachment to a 5,000 lb. (2,250 kg) Yale model ERC050VG forklift without obtaining explicit approval from forklift manufacturer Nacco Materials Handling Inc of Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The attachment was a 920i-2E cargo lift scale from Rice Lake Weighing Systems of Rice Lake, Wisconsin.

OSHA comments about the first violation: "The forklift with the attachment was used to move products throughout the facility and to load and unload trucks and trailers. Employees were exposed to crushing, struck-by, caught-in-between and tip-over hazards."

The second violation involves Corbi’s failure to provide refresher training for two employees who experienced late July accidents while separately operating a 6,000 lb. (2,700 kg) Yale model ERC060VG forklift and a 5,000-lb. (2,250-kg) Toyota model 7FGCU25 forklift.

The third citation says Corbi exceeded the rated capacity of a separate Yale model ERC050VG, generally rated at 5,000 lb. OSHA, however, says Corbi failed to ensure that the forklift "was used to handle loads not exceeding 4,850 lbs., the maximum rated safe capacity of the powered industrial vehicle (PIV). The PIV was used to handle loads such as, but not limited to, stacks of pallets with plastic sheets weighing up to 6,240 lb. (2,808 kg)."

The Fremont centre is one of 11 domestic Corbi locations that clean, sort and manage distribution of reusable plastic pallets, top frames and divider sheets.

In Wisconsin, Corbi Plastics has Madison offices and, 10 mi. (16 km) to the north in DeForest, operates an 82,000 sqft. (7,380 sqm) plant to manufacture solid and plastic corrugated sheet packaging using three extrusion lines.

Corbi is an operation within the Orbis Corporation business segment of Neenah, Wisconsin-based parent firm Menasha Corporation.

An Orbis spokesperson underscores the primary Orbis focus on employee safety and the existence of behaviour-based training programs to ensure employees are aware of, and practice, proper procedures.