PANEL TRUSS - HEARNE, LLC

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, PANEL TRUSS - HEARNE, LLC — a veneer, plywood, and engineered wood product manufacturing facility located at 407 WEST 6TH STREET, HEARNE, TX 77859 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 5 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $19,437.30. The inspection case was opened on 2017-01-31.

DOL records document workplace safety violations warranting formal citation under the OSH Act. While classified at the standard enforcement level, all OSHA citations require corrective action and may indicate areas where workplace safety programs should be strengthened.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers — 22% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 2.3 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $19,437.30 is more than 2.3× the national average of $8,414.32 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 321214). This sector encompasses 52,095 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $438.3M.

State Context: Within TX, this facility's penalty places it at the 98th percentile among 119,485 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,783.80.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 5 citations spanning 4 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 4 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 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 September 20, 2016 with the latest abatement deadline set for November 7, 2016. Of the 5 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 $19,437.30 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 $3,887.46 falls within the standard penalty range.

Panel Truss - Hearne, LLC’s inspection record reveals a profile of high-gravity mechanical and structural hazards indicative of a breakdown in fundamental machine guarding and housekeeping protocols. The citation under 1910.212(a)(1) underscores a failure to protect operators from points of operation, ingoing nip points, and rotating parts—critical vulnerabilities in a structural wood member manufacturing environment where high-speed sawing and pressing equipment are ubiquitous. When coupled with the General Duty Clause (5(a)(1)) violation, which carried the maximum gravity rating of 10, it is evident that OSHA identified recognized hazards for which no specific standard exists but which posed a clear threat of death or serious physical harm. The penalty of $19,437.30 for only five citations is significantly higher than the industry average for small-to-mid-sized wood product manufacturers, reflecting the severity of the identified risks. The presence of a 1910.22(a)(1) violation suggests that the facility struggled with basic floor maintenance and egress safety, which, when combined with inadequate eye and face protection (1910.133), points toward a systemic failure in safety leadership rather than isolated technical lapses. The inclusion of a 1904.29 recordkeeping violation further suggests that management oversight was deficient in tracking and analyzing injury trends, preventing the implementation of corrective actions before OSHA intervention. This enforcement profile characterizes a reactive safety culture where essential mechanical safeguards and administrative controls were neglected.