OSHA Fines Auto Parts Manufacturer $3.42m for Safety Violations
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined Sunfield Inc., an auto parts manufacturer in Ohio, $3.42 million for a long list of safety violations. These fines are one of the largest ever filed against an auto parts company.
According to the report, federal OSHA investigators were sent to Sunfield's Hebron facility several weeks after two of its employees had sustained serious injuries back in January and February of this year. After conducting its investigation, OSHA cited the auto parts company for a total of 46 "egregious willful" safety violations, along with two willful, one repeated, and eight "serious" safety violations. The majority of these safety violations include inadequate machine safety measures that subsequently exposed employers to amputation and other forms of serious injury.
Sunfield was also cited for failure to disconnect its heavy machinery from power supply before maintenance and use, along with failure to train workers on how to correctly and safety operate its heavy machinery.
This isn't the first time that Sunfield has been cited by OSHA for safety violations, however. Reports indicated that the auto parts company has been cited for safety violations for more than two decades. From 1997 to now, more than a dozen OSHA inspections found multiple violations. Sunfield had been issued 118 citations for safety violations since that period.
"When companies prioritize production and profit over the health and safety of their workforce, too often it is the workers that pay the price," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "OSHA's investigation found the company's leadership failed in its obligation to properly train workers for the jobs they were hired to do and created a culture that routinely tolerated willful and serious safety violations."
Dr. David Michaels, OSHA's assistant secretary went on to say: "Sunfield made and broke countless promises to improve safety conditions and eliminate serious hazards on the factory floor."
Reports such as this attest to the importance of maintaining a safe working environment. Aside from the danger it places on employees and workers, safety violations can bring serious fines and penalties. While Sunfield's case is rare, OSHA can and will issue hefty fines to discourage companies from violating its workplace safety rules. So if you're an employer, put forth the effort to provide a safe environment for all of your workers.
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