TRI-CON INDUSTRIES, LTD

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, TRI-CON INDUSTRIES, LTD — a industry sector 00 facility located at 4020 NORTHWEST 36TH STREET, LINCOLN, NE 68524 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 77 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $42,480.00. The inspection case was opened on 1993-10-20.

The volume of citations issued during this inspection suggests systematic compliance deficiencies rather than isolated incidents. Facilities with 10 or more citations typically face comprehensive abatement requirements and may be subject to follow-up inspections.

State Context: Within NE, this facility's penalty places it at the 99th percentile among 12,745 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $4,129.57.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 77 citations spanning 7 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 15 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning December 7, 1993 with the latest abatement deadline set for June 3, 1994. Of the 77 total citations, 15 (19%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $42,480.00 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 $551.69 falls within the standard penalty range.

The 1993 inspection of Tri-Con Industries reveals a facility operating with deep-seated systemic failures in mechanical safeguarding and energy control programs. The sheer volume of citations—77 in total—indicates a breakdown in the facility’s internal safety auditing and a reactive rather than proactive safety culture. The concentration of violations under 1910.217 (mechanical power presses) and 1910.255 (resistance welding) points to a high-risk environment where workers were routinely exposed to amputation hazards and point-of-operation injuries. These were not isolated mechanical issues but represented a failure to implement the fundamental engineering controls and inspection regimes required for heavy manufacturing equipment. Furthermore, the repeated violations of the Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) standards under 1910.147 (specifically sections C05, C06, and C07) demonstrate that the facility lacked a cohesive program for protecting maintenance and service personnel. The presence of multiple serious violations with high gravity ratings (05) suggests that OSHA identified hazards with a high probability of resulting in permanent disability or death. A total penalty of $42,480 in 1993 was significantly higher than the industry average for that era, reflecting the breadth of the non-compliance. This enforcement record characterizes a management team that failed to integrate OSHA’s General Industry Standards into daily operations, leaving employees to navigate a workplace defined by pervasive electrical, mechanical, and procedural risks.