HAWAII FOODSERVICE ALLIANCE LLC

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, HAWAII FOODSERVICE ALLIANCE LLC — a packaged frozen food merchant wholesalers facility located at 3140 UALENA ST, HONOLULU, HI 96819 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 5 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $42,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2012-11-28.

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.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 2.6 per 100 full-time workers — near the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 4.4 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $42,000.00 is more than 8.1× the national average of $5,185.75 for facilities in the Wholesale sector (NAICS 424420). This sector encompasses 30,869 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $160.1M.

State Context: Within HI, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 20,956 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $1,502.81.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 5 citations spanning 2 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 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. 1 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. 1 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning August 31, 2013 with the latest abatement deadline set for September 6, 2013. Of the 5 total citations, 4 (80%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, indicating substantial compliance with corrective action requirements.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $42,000.00 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 $8,400.00 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement record for Hawaii Foodservice Alliance LLC reveals a deeply concerning disconnect between operational logistics and fundamental life-safety protocols. The presence of a Willful violation (Std: 600002 A03) carrying a heavy $36,100 penalty—representing over 85% of the total fine—indicates that management demonstrated either an intentional disregard for safety requirements or plain indifference to worker protection. In the context of a food distribution hub, these specific standards typically involve the failure to maintain clear egress, proper machine guarding, or hazardous energy control. The high gravity ratings (10) assigned to three of the five citations suggest that the identified hazards were not merely administrative oversights but conditions with a high probability of resulting in permanent disability or death. The combination of walking-working surface violations (1910.22) and electrical standard failures (1910.305) points to a systemic breakdown in facility maintenance and hazard recognition. Rather than isolated incidents, this pattern suggests a "production-over-safety" culture where basic housekeeping and infrastructure integrity were sacrificed for throughput. For a NAICS 424420 entity, a $42,000 penalty is significantly higher than the industry average, signaling that HIOSH intended to send a deterrent message regarding the facility's failure to address known high-risk conditions. This record serves as a roadmap of institutional negligence that significantly elevated the risk of catastrophic workplace injuries.