Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: UNAPEQUIP

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to the condition(s) listed below: Excel Corporation, N Hwy 87, Plainview, Texas: On or about January 7, 1997, employees were required, under direction of supervisory personnel, to bypass safety control devices on the below listed equipment. This exposed employees to the hazards and injuries related to equipment continuing to operate at unsafe conditions (i.e. overspeed, over temperature, over pressure, etc). Instances: a) High Limit Cut Out on the Bone Dryer. b) High Pressure Gas Switch on the boilers. c) Air Flow Proving Switch on the #5 boiler. d) Hydraulic Power Pack in inedible rendering. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard would be to maintain an adequate supply of spare parts based on failure analysis of each type of equipment, and assure that ordering of replacements takes place when spares are withdrawn from stock. This will assure minimal downtime and eliminate the need to bypass equipment.