Workers exposed to multiple safety hazards at Norwalk, Ohio, packaging plant

Employer name: Americraft Carton Inc., Norwalk, Ohio

Citations received: Nov. 23, 2015

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Toledo Area Office cited the paperboard packaging plant for seven serious safety violations.

OSHA opened an inspection of the Norwalk plant after receiving a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions that exposed workers to amputation and other hazards.

The agency found the company failed to:

• Use locking devices to prevent unintentional operation of machines during service and maintenance.
• Train employees in machine safety procedures.
• Install safety guards on pulleys, belts and horizontal shafts.
• Conduct daily inspections of powered industrial vehicles and remove damaged vehicles from service.

Quote: "Each year hundreds of workers are injured by the same hazards OSHA found in this packaging facility," said Kim Nelson, OSHA's area director in Toledo. "Failing to install safety mechanisms on machines and equipment and train workers in safety procedures is unacceptable. Americraft Carton needs to make immediate improvements to ensure workers are protected on the job."

Proposed Penalties: $44,000

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 Toledo Area Office at 419-259-7542.