Cleveland manufacturer exposes workers to amputation, other hazards

Employer name: Voss Industries LLC

Investigation site: 2168 W. 25th Street, Cleveland, Ohio

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Cleveland Office issued 12 serious and one other-than-serious safety violations to Voss Industries LLC, an aircraft component and product manufacturer. The company received those citations, Aug. 7.

The serious violations include:

• Failing to protect workers from operating parts of power presses, gear assemblies and riveting machines; and
• Failing to inspect cranes, hooks and hoist assemblies at required intervals.

OSHA issued one other-than-serious violation to the company for failing to train workers about chemical hazards in the workplace.

Quote: "Each year hundreds of workers are injured because manufacturers choose to ignore safety requirements," said Howard Eberts, OSHA's area director in Cleveland. "Voss Industries has a responsibility to conduct routine inspections of equipment and ensure the use of safety mechanisms to protect workers from unnecessary injuries on the job."

Proposed Penalties: $59,000

Link to citations: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20151332fs.pdf

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Cleveland Office at 216-447-4194.