FORD ELECTRONICS/REFRIGERATION

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, FORD ELECTRONICS/REFRIGERATION — a industry sector 00 facility located at CHURCH ROAD, LANSDALE, PA 19446 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 17 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $1,950,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 1989-01-10.

This facility represents one of the most severe enforcement actions in the OSHA SVEP database. Willful violations combined with penalties exceeding $100,000 indicate a pattern of deliberate non-compliance that poses an imminent danger to workers.

State Context: Within PA, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 84,409 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,015.83.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 17 citations spanning 4 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 7 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. 3 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 4 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 1 unclassified — A technical violation that does not fit neatly into the standard classification categories.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning July 7, 1989 with the latest abatement deadline set for June 1, 1995. Of the 17 total citations, 15 (88%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, indicating substantial compliance with corrective action requirements.

Penalty Assessment: The per-citation average of $114,705.88 exceeds OSHA's FY2024 statutory maximum of $16,131 for serious violations, indicating the presence of willful or repeat classifications that carry enhanced penalty authority under Section 17 of the OSH Act.

The 1989 enforcement action against Ford Electronics/Refrigeration remains a landmark example of the "egregious" penalty policy adopted by OSHA during that era to combat systemic corporate negligence. The staggering $1.95 million penalty—an extraordinary sum for the late 1980s—was driven primarily by a massive cluster of Willful violations under 29 CFR 1904.2(a). These recordkeeping violations represented more than mere administrative oversight; they signaled a deliberate, top-