Guyoung Tech USA cited for serious safety and health violations

EVERGREEN, Ala. — Guyoung Tech USA Inc. was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 14 safety and health violations. A July 2014 inspection of the company's Evergreen facility found the company exposed workers to potentially fatal hazards, including amputations and electric shock. The inspection was initiated as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program for Safety Hazards in the Auto Parts Industry. Proposed penalties total $68,000.

"Workers earning a day's pay should not be put at risk of amputation, electric shock, struck-by or any other hazards," said Joseph Roesler, OSHA's area director in Mobile. "Employers are legally obligated to protect all workers from serious injury or death in the workplace."

OSHA issued 12 serious violations for exposing workers to crushing and struck-by hazards by not anchoring storage rack shelving to the floor and for failing to protect employees from amputations by requiring them to work with dangerous equipment without necessary guards. The company failed to develop procedures to prevent accidental machine startup and to train workers on occupational noise hazards. Additionally, the employer exposed workers to arc blasts by not ensuring unused circuit breaker openings were closed in electrical cabinets. An arc blast, or flash, occurs when a flashover of electric current leaves its intended path and travels through the air from one conductor to another, or to the ground, which can injure people close to the blast.

Other violations included failure to evaluate forklift operators' job performance at least every three years and to post a copy of the workplace noise standard in a place visible to employees. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Guyoung Tech USA is a metal stamping company that supplies oil pans, covers and parts for the auto industry. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report 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 Mobile Area Office at 251-441-6131.

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 ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.