An Illinois manufacturer faces $298,000 in penalties after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the company failed to guard industrial equipment, develop a lockout/tagout program and train workers on machine safety procedures, exposing them to multiple injuries and amputation hazards.
During a July inspection at Walker Midwest LLC in Itasca ‒ opened after receiving a complaint related to hazards under the National Emphasis Program on Amputations in Manufacturing Industries ‒ OSHA found workers operating numerous unguarded industrial machines. The lack of guarding exposed workers to the machines’ points of operation and danger zones during production. The inspection also identified employees engaged in maintenance and servicing activities on the machines without lockout/tagout procedures.
OSHA cited the company for one willful and 13 serious violations – all involving required machine safety procedures – and proposed $298,453 in penalties.
Walker Midwest is a division of Walker Stamping of Ontario, California, which was founded in 1954. The company is a custom manufacturer providing metal stampings, fabrication, springs and other products for various commercial industries such as automotive, aircraft, solar and consumer electronics.
Source: OSHA
Topics Illinois Manufacturing
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