Strategies_Spring_2025

OPERATIONS

Safety First OSHA Violation Leads Ohio Retailer to Develop Comprehensive Safety Program

A surprise OSHA visit led leadership at Farm & Home Hardware to create a comprehensive safety program for employees.

For Scott Jerousek, a North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) board member who operates three stores in north central Ohio, it was a wake up call that led to the development of a comprehensive safety program for the business and a “safety first” culture among his 130 employees. Administration (OSHA) is on-site for a surprise safety inspection. I t’s a call no retailer ever wants to get— the Occupational Safety and Health

Surprise Visit “I’m out of town and receive a call from one of my office managers saying there is an OSHA inspector on-site for a surprise visit,” Jerousek says. “Of course, my first thought was, ‘Who turned us in?’” Jerousek suspected a disgruntled employee they had let go several days prior was responsible, but the focus quickly shifted to the nature of the violations and what measures they needed to fix. In this case, the surprise visit was related to several forklift safety violations. It started in a store’s warehouse, where employees were using forklifts with a platform attached to get appliances off the upper racks.

Employees would take a forklift up 20 feet and step off and pull appliances onto it, which is something Jerousek says he knew they shouldn’t be doing but hadn’t taken the steps to rectify. The other OSHA citation they received was also related to forklift safety: a Chemical Hazard Communication Standard (HAZCOM) violation where employees were topping off batteries in forklifts with water without wearing proper personal protection equipment (PPE). “You always plan on making changes tomorrow or next week,” Jerousek says. “Then more pressing issues arise, and the safety program upgrades are put off.”

32 Spring 2025 • Hardlines Strategies