Energy Control Procedure Failures Lead List of Violations at Ohio Glass Factory

The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently cited China-based glass manufacturer, Fuyao Glass America Inc., following two May 2016 inspections at its Moraine, Ohio facility. The agency asserted that Fuyao was responsible for 11 serious safety violations, including a failure to implement energy control procedures and a failure to install adequate machine guarding. The proposed penalty for these multiple violations is, $131,836.

Fuyao Glass began operations at the Moraine location in October of 2015 and, since opening, has been the recipient of 8 separate federal inspections, all related to received complaints for non-compliance with safety standards including faulty energy control procedures. Before the most recent November citations, Fuyao Glass was the recipient of $226,937 in proposed penalties. In total, the company has been cited for 23 serious safety violations and one other-than-serious violation.

Among the various violations listed by OSHA, the following were found:

• Failure to implement personal protective equipment
• Failure to implement energy control procedures
• Failure to mitigate electrical hazards
• Failure to implement machine guarding, to prevent amputation hazards
• Failure to implement a training program for employees, regarding hazardous chemicals and unmarked exits

OSHA Cincinnati area director, Ken Montgomery, said, “Fuyao Glass America needs to protect its workers. Period. Since Fuyao began operations in October 2015, we have received multiple complaints and conducted eight inspections at the facility. We found safety and health violations in six of them. OSHA will remain vigilant until this rapidly expanding company protects its workers from serious safety hazards by making needed improvements to equipment, procedures, and training. Providing jobs in a community should not come at the expense of workers’ safety and health.”

Fuyao America Glass currently employs more than 2,000 workers at the Moraine site. The company also operates facilities in Mt. Zion, Illinois; Lake Orion, Michigan; and Greenville, South Carolina.

Common hazards of the industrial workplace which utilizes machinery include, electrical shock and amputation. One simple resource that employers and safety leaders can utilize to avoid non-compliance with OSHA safety standards is an on-site training course.