CROWN CORK & SEAL COMPANY, INC.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, CROWN CORK & SEAL COMPANY, INC. — a industry sector 00 facility located at 5555 W. 115TH ST., ALSIP, IL 60482 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 13 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $88,650.00. The inspection case was opened on 1995-10-18.

Federal investigators determined that one or more violations at this facility were committed willfully — meaning the employer either knowingly failed to comply with OSHA standards or acted with plain indifference to employee safety. Willful violations carry the highest penalty multipliers under the OSH Act.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $88,650.00 is more than 74.1× 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 IL, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 88,899 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,496.90.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 13 citations spanning 4 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 1 repeat — A substantially similar violation was found during a previous inspection and the original citation has become a final order. 6 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 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 4 willful — The employer intentionally and knowingly committed the violation, demonstrating either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the OSH Act or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning February 26, 1996 with the latest abatement deadline set for January 18, 2000. Of the 13 total citations, 6 (46%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $88,650.00 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 $6,819.23 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement profile for Crown Cork & Seal’s Alsip facility reveals a dangerous convergence of mechanical hazards and programmatic failures, characterized by a blatant disregard for machine guarding and energy control protocols. The presence of multiple Willful violations—the highest level of OSHA culpability—signifies that management either acted with intentional disregard for worker safety or demonstrated plain indifference to the requirements of the law. Specifically, the citations under 1910.212 and 1910.147 indicate that employees were routinely exposed to point-of-operation hazards and the risk of unexpected machine startup. By failing to provide adequate guarding and neglecting to implement robust Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) training and procedures, the employer effectively bypassed the two most critical defenses against amputations and crushing injuries. The penalty assessment, totaling $88,650, is significantly higher than the industry average for the mid-1990s, reflecting the severity of the Willful designations and the high "Gravity 10" rating assigned to these hazards. Furthermore, the recurring violations related to occupational noise exposure (1910.95) suggest a systemic failure to manage the industrial hygiene aspects of the plant. This was not a case of isolated oversight; the data portrays a facility where production speed likely superseded safety engineering, leaving workers to navigate high-energy machinery without the necessary mechanical barriers or procedural safeguards required by federal law. The breadth of these citations underscores a fundamental breakdown in the facility’s safety culture and internal audit mechanisms.