BLUE BELL CREAMERIES, L. P.
According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, BLUE BELL CREAMERIES, L. P. — a manufacturing facility located at 8201 E HWY 51, BROKEN ARROW, OK 74014 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 14 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $97,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2021-03-02.
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 $97,000.00 is more than 11.4× the national average of $8,527.19 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 311520). This sector encompasses 24,420 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $208.2M.
State Context: Within OK, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 20,827 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,560.36.
Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 14 citations spanning 2 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. 11 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 August 5, 2021 with the latest abatement deadline set for November 15, 2021. Of the 14 total citations, 0 (0%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.
Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $97,000.00 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 $6,928.57 falls within the standard penalty range.
The enforcement record for this facility reveals a pervasive breakdown in Process Safety Management (PSM) protocols, specifically concerning the handling of highly hazardous chemicals typical in industrial refrigeration. The citation cluster focuses heavily on 29 CFR 1910.119, indicating systemic failures in Process Safety Information (PSI), operating procedures, and mechanical integrity. For the workforce, these deficiencies represent a catastrophic risk profile; the failure to maintain accurate piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) and equipment specifications means employees were operating complex, pressurized systems without a reliable technical baseline. This lack of structural oversight is compounded by lapses in contractor safety and emergency planning, suggesting that the facility failed to ensure that all personnel—both internal and external—were adequately prepared for a release or system failure. With nearly $100,000 in penalties across 14 violations, the severity far exceeds industry averages for dairy product manufacturing. The high gravity ratings (10) assigned to the majority of these citations signify that OSHA viewed these omissions as having a high probability of resulting in death or serious physical harm. Rather than isolated mechanical faults, the breadth of the citations—spanning from training (G) and mechanical integrity (J) to management of change (L) and emergency planning (N)—points to a fundamental collapse of the facility’s safety culture and a failure to implement a functional PSM program. This pattern reflects a reactive rather than a preventative safety posture, placing the site at significant risk for a high-consequence chemical incident.