OSHA fines 6 companies in northwest Ohio for violations
2/16/2018Six companies based or operating in northwest Ohio, including The Andersons Inc. and Maumee Assembly & Stamping, have been fined a combined $290,208 for safety violations found during work site inspections conducted in August through October.
The biggest fine, $81,300, was levied against auto parts manufacturer Matsu Ohio Inc. of Edgerton for being a repeat violator. Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found one Serious category violation and one Repeat violation — a power press did not have adequate guardrails to prevent employees from being harmed by the machine — during a visit in mid-October.
Matsu previously had been cited in 2015 for the same problem at a factory in Huntsville, Ala.
Maumee Assembly & Stamping at 920 Illinois Ave., which makes a variety of parts for original equipment manufacturers, was fined $76,827 after being cited for four Repeat violations during an inspection at its Maumee plant last September.
The infractions related to a mechanical power press and the lack of safety features and procedures when setting up dies on the press. Maumee Assembly previously had been cited for the problems in early August.
The Andersons was fined $25,868 after an inspection in early August revealed three Serious violations at its railcar repair yard at 521 Illinois Ave. in Maumee. The company was cited for not having adequate respiratory safeguards for employees cleaning out the bottom of a hopper bottom railcar that had been filled with cement powder.
A roofing firm from Martin, Ohio, Altogether Roofing LLC, was fined $55,770 following an inspection in late September that revealed safety violations at a residential job site in Oregon.
The fine was high because OSHA officials determined the violations fell into the agency’s Willful category. OHSA’s report said Altogether Roofing had no safety plan or program in place to prevent falling and other injuries to employees while on the job. That included a lack of guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems.
A pipeline company based in Indianapolis was fined $25,868 after inspectors found six Serious violations at a job site at 234 Hawley St. in Toledo during an inspection in August.
The violations cited for Miller Pipeline LLC related to workers using jackhammers to remove sections of a concrete cap that was covering underground high voltage electrical lines. Workers were not provided with proper clothing and other safety gear, including helmets, to prevent injury while on the job, OSHA said.
Lastly, Uni-Grip Inc. of Upper Sandusky was fined $24,575 for three Serious violations found during a September inspection at its operations near Upper Sandusky.
Uni-Grip, which makes extruded rubber and plastic seals and edge trims used by a variety of industries, was cited for safety problems related to a hole puncher machine. While the machine was being set up, a lack of proper lockout-tagout procedures led to an employee losing part of a right finger. And later when employees cleaned up after the incident, they were exposed to blood-borne hazards and should have been provided with Hepatitis B vaccinations but were not.
Contact Blade Business Writer Jon Chavez at jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.