The alleged failure to protect its employees from safety hazards has brought M-D Building Products in
In October 2005 OSHA cited the company $177,000 for violations following an amputation. The August 2007 follow-up inspection resulted in OSHA citing the company with three serious and four repeat violations.
"Within the past few years, the company has had a history of severe injuries including amputations of an arm, hands and fingers, burns and electrical shock," said Carlos Reynolds, OSHA's acting district director in Oklahoma City. "If this employer had implemented periodic safety inspections, as required, many of these injuries could have been avoided."
The three serious violations were for failing to correctly certify that energy control procedures were conducted;, perform forklift operator evaluations; and provide adequate machine guarding. A serious violation is one involving a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
The four repeat violations included failing to conduct periodic inspections of energy control procedures with maintenance employees and provide machine guarding to protect employees from rotating and nip points on machinery. A repeat violation is proposed when this same OSHA standard or a like standard has been violated within the last three years.
M-D Building Products has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's
Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health standards may call OSHA's Oklahoma City Area Office at 405-278-9560 or
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of
