A follow-up inspection prompted OSHA to propose $140,000 in fines against Chicago metal forger A. Finkl & Sons for failing to correct the workplace safety hazards initially found in 2006.
The follow-up inspection found that the company still has not provided adequate guardrails over tanks and pits and has failed to keep industrial trucks in clean and safe operating condition. These two were categorized as willful citations and carry a total of $140,000 in penalties.
“It's disappointing when we find on re-inspection that problems which may lead to death or serious injury still exist,” said Diane Turek, OSHA's area director in Des Plaines, Ill. “There is no excuse for this kind of attitude toward the safety of employees.”
OSHA inspected the Finkl forging plant 19 times since 1972, with 12 of those inspections resulting in citations for safety violations. The company has had two fatalities during that time. Additionally, an employee was injured in 2003 after jumping from the cab of a powered industrial truck that caught fire. An accumulation of hydraulic oil ignited while the worker was transporting a heated metal ingot.
A call to A. Finkl & Sons for comment was not returned.
