In announcing last month broadened criteria for classifying employers as severe safety violators, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration official Douglas Parker singled out a steel fabricator near El Paso, Texas. The U.S. Labor Dept. assistant secretary for occupational safety and health, he posted a blog stating that OSHA had placed Kyoei Steel Ltd. in its severe violators program, which subjects the firm to numerous re-inspections until it is allowed to exit.
A burned hand in October 2021 and an amputated finger last January were among the injuries suffered by employees of Kyoei, wrote Parker. OSHA counted 10 incidents at the company's plant in five years, including five machine-guarding violations. In April, OSHA proposed $364,000 in fines against the fabricator.