BEHLEN MANUFACTURING CO.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, BEHLEN MANUFACTURING CO. — a industry sector 00 facility located at 4025 EAST 23RD STREET, COLUMBUS, NE 68601 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 37 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $74,337.50. The inspection case was opened on 1989-05-24.

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.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $74,337.50 is more than 62.2× 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 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 37 citations spanning 6 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 9 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. 4 repeat — A substantially similar violation was found during a previous inspection and the original citation has become a final order.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning May 13, 1998 with the latest abatement deadline set for December 29, 2000. Of the 37 total citations, 13 (35%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $74,337.50 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 $2,009.12 falls within the standard penalty range.

The inspection of Behlen Manufacturing Co. revealed a critical breakdown in machine safeguarding and hazardous energy control protocols,