ARMSTRONG CABINETS

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, ARMSTRONG CABINETS — a wood kitchen cabinet and countertop manufacturing facility located at R.R. 2, BOX 13, AUBURN, NE 68305 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 25 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $155,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2001-02-20.

Cumulative penalties significantly exceed the national median for OSHA enforcement actions. The penalty amount suggests multiple high-gravity citations, indicating conditions that presented a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to employees.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers — 22% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 2.3 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $155,000.00 is more than 24.1× the national average of $6,436.62 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 337110). This sector encompasses 82,943 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $533.9M.

State Context: Within NE, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 12,745 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $4,129.57.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 25 citations spanning 4 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. 10 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 2 unclassified — A technical violation that does not fit neatly into the standard classification categories.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning August 8, 2001 with the latest abatement deadline set for October 29, 2001. Of the 25 total citations, 11 (44%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $155,000.00 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 $6,200.00 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement action against Armstrong Cabinets revealed a pervasive breakdown in safety management systems, characterized by a high-gravity intersection of mechanical guarding failures and deficient energy control protocols. The assessment of significant penalties—totaling $155,000 in 2001—placed this facility well above industry norms for wood kitchen cabinet manufacturing, signaling a regulatory determination of