LONGWELL COMPANY

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, LONGWELL COMPANY — a industrial machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers facility located at 1610 W. JAMES PLACE, KENT, WA 98032 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 15 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $165,400.00. The inspection case was opened on 2010-03-04.

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.

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 $165,400.00 is more than 31.9× the national average of $5,185.75 for facilities in the Wholesale sector (NAICS 423830). This sector encompasses 30,869 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $160.1M.

State Context: Within WA, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 126,183 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $1,683.96.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 15 citations spanning 13 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. 2 repeat — A substantially similar violation was found during a previous inspection and the original citation has become a final order. 7 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 3 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 September 2, 2010 with the latest abatement deadline set for January 10, 2013. Of the 15 total citations, 9 (60%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, suggesting partial progress toward required corrective actions.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $165,400.00 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 $11,026.67 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement action against Longwell Company revealed a profoundly deficient safety culture characterized by a disregard for fundamental industrial hygiene and hazard communication protocols. The assessment of $165,400 in penalties is exceptionally high for the industrial machinery wholesale sector, signaling that inspectors encountered egregious non-compliance rather than administrative oversights. The presence of multiple willful violations—carrying a combined penalty exceeding $128,000—carries significant legal weight, as it indicates the employer either acted with intentional disregard for worker safety or demonstrated plain indifference to statutory requirements. This classification elevates the facility’s risk profile, potentially exposing the organization to enhanced oversight through the Severe Violator Enforcement Program. The distribution of citations across serious, repeat, and willful categories suggests a systemic failure to sustain a safe working environment. Specifically, the heavy concentration of violations related to hazardous substance handling and personal protective equipment indicates that workers were likely exposed to chronic health hazards without adequate engineering controls or medical surveillance. The repeat citations are particularly damning, as they prove the employer was previously notified of specific hazards but failed to implement permanent corrective actions. This pattern of recidivism, coupled with the high-gravity willful citations, suggests that management prioritized operational throughput over the basic health and safety infrastructure required to protect its workforce from long-term occupational illnesses.