ARI MATSUI DBA A R I WOODWORKS
According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, ARI MATSUI DBA A R I WOODWORKS — a industry sector 00 facility located at 1866 W. 169TH ST UNIT G, GARDENA, CA 90247 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 8 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $24,470.00. The inspection case was opened on 2002-10-07.
DOL records document workplace safety violations warranting formal citation under the OSH Act. While classified at the standard enforcement level, all OSHA citations require corrective action and may indicate areas where workplace safety programs should be strengthened.
Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $24,470.00 is more than 20.5× the national average of $1,195.75 for facilities in the Other sector (NAICS 000000). This sector encompasses 1,316,687 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $1,574.4M.
State Context: Within CA, this facility's penalty places it at the 98th percentile among 184,062 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,010.44.
Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 8 citations spanning 3 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 3 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 5 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.
Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning February 21, 2003 with the latest abatement deadline set for February 28, 2005. Of the 8 total citations, 8 (100%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, indicating substantial compliance with corrective action requirements.
Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $24,470.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $3,058.75 falls within the standard penalty range.
The enforcement record for ARI Woodworks reveals a deeply concerning pattern of systemic safety failures that extend far beyond simple administrative oversights. The citation profile is dominated by two high-gravity Serious violations, each carrying a $10,800 penalty—a figure significantly higher than the industry average for small-scale woodworking operations. These penalties specifically target a fundamental breakdown in the Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) under Standard 3203(a) and critical machine guarding deficiencies for wood-shaping equipment under Standard 4318. The convergence of these citations suggests that management failed to establish a basic safety culture, leaving workers exposed to catastrophic amputation hazards and crushing injuries. The presence of multiple secondary citations related to Standard 4300 further underscores a pervasive neglect of mechanical safeguards on circular saws and related machinery. In practical terms, employees were likely operating high-speed cutting tools without functional hoods, spreaders, or non-kickback devices, creating a high-probability environment for life-altering traumatic injuries. Rather than isolated mechanical failures, the heavy weighting of the IIPP penalty indicates a top-down failure to identify, evaluate, or correct known workplace hazards. This record reflects a facility operating with a "production-over-protection" mindset, where the lack of a formalized safety framework transformed routine woodworking tasks into high-risk activities, necessitating substantial regulatory intervention to mitigate imminent physical threats to the workforce.