Fabric Facility Cited by OSHA Following Worker Hand Injuries
The company faces $185,400 in proposed fines for alleged willful and repeat violations.
OSHA has cited Precision Custom Coatings LLC following an inspection in which the agency found the company at fault for alleged repeat and willful violations, including exposing workers to hand injuries, according to OSHA. The fabric manufacturing company faces $185,400 in proposed fines.
The investigation was completed following two workplace incidents that entirely crushed one machine operator's hand and left the other with a partial hand amputation. The agency filed one willful, one repeat, and 12 serious safety violations. The willful violation ($70,000 in proposed fines) is for the company's alleged failure to use danger tags and proper guards on machinery to warn employees about burn hazards. The repeat violation ($38,500 in proposed fines) was for the facility's alleged lack of machine guarding to protect workers from nip point and rotating part hazards.
In addition, Precision Custom Coatings faces $76,900 in proposed fines for serious violations that include lack of guards for rotating shafts and portable grinder, lack of training for employees operating powered industrial trucks, lack of danger tags to warn of burn hazards on dry can rollers, lack of a midrail on an aerial lift work platform, and more.
"With the proper machine guarding in place, this company could have prevented these needless, life-altering injuries," said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA's Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. "Employers are responsible for eliminating or controlling hazards when the operation of a machine or accidental contact could injure the operator or others. This employer's failure to do so created catastrophic consequences."