Finger Amputation Brings $74,826 Penalty
The inspection began May 16, 2016, after a complaint that an amputation injury early this year at the window manufacturer's Dalton, Pa., facility was not reported to OSHA. The inspection also was done as part of OSHA's national emphasis program on amputations.
OSHA cited a window manufacturer, Crystal Window & Doors, on Nov. 14 for one other-than-serious and eight serious safety violations following an inspection that began May 16, 2016, after a complaint that an amputation injury early this year at the window manufacturer's Dalton, Pa., facility was not reported to OSHA. The inspection also was done as part of OSHA's national emphasis program on amputations.
The inspectors cited the company for serious violations involving:
- No established energy control program
- Powered industrial trucks operated by employees without proper training
- Unguarded machinery
- A mechanical power press operated without a single-stroke mechanism, which prevents workers' exposure to amputation hazards and other injuries
- Mechanical power presses not periodically and regularly inspected and tested
- Damaged electrical equipment
The other-than-serious violation involved the lack of a written Hazard Communication program.
"In January 2016, an employee of this company suffered a finger amputation on his first day of work. Since then, Crystal Window & Door Systems has not taken the necessary actions to correct the safety hazards that caused the amputation," said Mark Stelmack, director of OSHA's Wilkes-Barre Area Office. "When employers fail to provide a safe workplace, we will hold them legally accountable."
Proposed penalties total $74,826.
The company is a leading U.S. window manufacturers, headquartered in Flushing, N.Y., with manufacturing plants in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Riverside, Calif., according to OSHA's news release.