OSHA cites Republic Wire after worker loses finger in unguarded machine

Employer name: Republic Wire Inc.

Inspection site: 5525 Union Centre Drive, West Chester, Ohio

Citations issued: Feb. 10, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Cincinnati Area Office cited Republic Wire for one willful, four serious and one other-than-serious violation.

OSHA opened an investigation of the cable wire insulation manufacturer after a 30-year-old line operator’s left pinky finger was crushed and amputated by the clamp arm of a machine as he welded two copper cables.

The agency cited the company for:

• Lacking guards on the welding machine’s clamp arms to stop workers from contacting operating parts.
• Failing to develop and train workers on machine specific procedures for isolating energy sources.
• Not reporting an amputation injury to OSHA within 24 hours, as required.

Quote: “Each year, hundreds of workers suffer amputation and other serious injuries because employers fail to install machine guards and train workers in safety procedures,” said Ken Montgomery, OSHA’s area director in Cincinnati. “Complying with OSHA standards protects workers from injury and death on the job.”

Proposed Penalties: $69,300.

View Citations here:

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 Cincinnati Area Office at 513-841-4132.