Kent Mallett, Reporter 7:43 p.m. EDT July 1, 2016
Story Highlights
On Jan. 6, a 22-year-old man suffered multiple lacerations and a fractured right elbow at Sunfield.
On Feb. 18, a Sunfield employee had his right arm amputated after its was crushed on a press line.
HEBRON, OHIO – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 57 citations for safety violations and proposed $3.4 million in fines to Sunfield, Inc., a Japanese-owned auto manufacturer operating a plant in Hebron.
The fines are one of the largest OSHA penalties ever filed against a company in the automotive parts industry, according to OSHA. The agency issued Sunfield 118 citations addressing numerous machine hazards at the Hebron facility.
A telephone message left Friday for company spokesman Rudy Parr was not returned by presstime.
An employee's arm was crushed and amputated in February. An employee of a temporary staffing agency suffered a fractured elbow in January. A man's fingers were severed in 2011. A fire in 2007 forced the evacuation of 85 employees. An employee fractured his leg in 2000, after being pinned under a coil of rolled steel.
"Sunfield has shown a total disregard for its workers, the kind rarely seen since the darkest days of the past when callous industrialists ruled and put profits before human suffering and common decency," said David Michaels, the OSHA assistant secretary of labor. "This has to stop. We hope that today’s action brings an end to these conditions and convinces this employer that their behavior is intolerable."
The fines are in response to Sunfield's failure to disconnect machinery from a power supply, failure to prevent sudden movement before maintenance and service, and failure to train workers in operating machine presses safely.
"Sunfield made and broke countless promises to improve safety conditions and eliminate serious hazards on the factory floor," Michaels said. "The company also ignored its own corporate safety manuals and its safety manager's warnings that workers lacked the training to protect themselves. And still, the company risked the safety and well-being of its employees as they operated dangerous and powerful industrial machines."
Federal investigators inspected the Hebron plant after the the injuries earlier this year. The facility has an extensive history of federal safety violations, dating back 20 years, OSHA reported. The company has a high rate of employee turnover, investigators found.
The latest citations were for 46 egregious willful, two willful, one repeated and eight serious safety violations. The agency placed the company in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, for failure to address the safety hazards. Most of the violations involve lack of machine safety procedures which expose workers to amputation, lacerations and other injuries.
"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 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."
On Jan. 6, a 22-year-old man employed by a staffing agency suffered multiple lacerations and a fractured right elbow while removing scrap from a blanking press, after machine parts caught his arm because safety light curtains were not operating correctly, according to OSHA.
OSHA’s investigation found a supervisor identified the safety issue two hours prior to the injury, and failed to place the equipment out of service. The injured worker had been on the job six months.
On Feb. 18, a full-time 58-year-old Sunfield employee had surgical amputation of his right arm above the elbow after his arm was crushed when he removed scrap on a robotic press line. Investigators found the machine’s danger zone did not have adequate safeguards to prevent employees from coming in contact with operating machine parts. He had been on the job for a year.
Since 1997, 16 of 20 inspections conducted found multiple violations. On July 21, 2000, an injury occurred while safety inspectors were visiting the company.
OSHA found that the company did not take the necessary steps to protect its workers from being injured by moving machine parts. The agency also found multiple electrical safety violations including lack of personal protective equipment, workers exposed to live electrical parts, and use of damaged equipment.
The company supplies parts for several major Japanese and domestic automakers. Sunfield, which began production here in June 1994, has a daily workforce of about 175. The Hebron site is the only U.S. plant. The parent company, Ikeda Manufacturing Company LTD. is headquartered in Ota-City, Gunma, Japan.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.