OSHA fines HBD/Thermoid $390,000 for 'serious' violations

BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio—HBD/Thermoid Inc. has been ordered to pay nearly $390,000 in fines and make necessary safety upgrades to its central Ohio facility following a serious worker injury that occurred in June.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, by way of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, cited HBD/Thermoid Dec. 20 with two repeat violations, one willful-serious violation, one serious violation and one other-than-serious violation, involving "lack of adequate machine guarding and required machine safety measures that isolate energy to protect workers during setup or servicing activities, commonly known as lockout/tagout procedures."

OSHA's proposed monetary penalties—from the five violations in aggregate—total $389,534. Abatements must be made by Jan. 5, 2024, in each case, according to a Dec. 20 letter and notice of citations to the manufacturer of rubber hose, conveyor belting and duct materials.

"This employee suffered preventable injuries because their employer continues to ignore its responsibility to protect their workers," OSHA Area Director Todd Jensen, based in Toledo, Ohio, stated in a Dec. 20 news release from OSHA. "We cited the company for safety violations on the very same machine in March 2023, and they still failed to protect their employees.

"It's time for HBD/Thermoid Inc. to make the safety of their employees a priority."

The worker in question, 25, allegedly suffered "severe crushing injuries" while working at the Bellefontaine location June 22.

According to the Department of Labor, the accident "could have been prevented" if the company had followed required safety measures. Specifically, the OSHA inspector said the worker sustained injuries because of "the company's failure to abide by lockout/tagout procedures."

As such, powered belts on a machine "were still energized and unguarded, pulling the worker into the machine."

Based in Dublin, Ohio, HBD/Thermoid Inc. operates manufacturing facilities in Bellefontaine (just northwest of Dublin), as well as in Chanute, Kan.; and Oneida, Tenn.

The company produces its industrial hoses, conveyor belting and duct materials for an array of applications and industries, including transportation, food processing and agriculture.

According to OSHA, HBD/Thermoid has 15 business days from receipt of the notice of citations to either comply with the abatements; request an informal conference with OSHA's Jensen; or contest the findings before an independent review commission.

HBD/Thermoid declined the opportunity to comment immediately when contacted by Rubber News.

The first citation issued to HBD/Thermoid by OSHA based on the June 22 incident and subsequent investigation is categorized as "serious" and concerns the reeler station.

"The employer does not train Reeler Station employees as authorized employees to lock out the overhead cat-pullers prior to performing set up activities. Reeler Station employees are not trained how to control hazardous energy sources prior to performing set up," OSHA states in its Dec. 20 notice to HBD/Thermoid.

This initial citation carries a proposed penalty of $15,625, according to the OSHA notice.

A second citation, considered "willful-serious," concerns "energy control" procedures and carries a proposed fine of $156,259.

"The employer does not develop, document and utilize energy control procedures to protect employees from (being) caught in nip-point hazards when performing maintenance on machines," OSHA states.

Specific machines in question that require safety improvements include cat-pullers and wigwags.

A third citation, which includes two "repeat-serious" violations, concerns proper guarding on the cat-pullers on at least seven different production lines; and the proper enclosures for the chain and sprocket drives on the wigwags of those same production lines.

The first "repeat-serious" violation within this citation carries a proposed $156,259 fine; and the second carries a proposed fine of $61,391.

A fourth citation is considered "other-than-serious" and does not carry a proposed fine or deadline for abatement.

The June 22 incident from this year is the seventh time the company has been investigated for safety issues at the Bellefontaine plant since 2013, according to OSHA.

In May 2014, at a HBD/Thermoid manufacturing location in Salisbury, N.C., that is no longer open, a worker was killed after being caught in an industrial machine.

An investigation begun in October 2014 by OSHA drew 11 safety violations (one "willful" and 10 "serious") totaling $134,000, according to OSHA records.

In this investigation, which concluded in May 2015, employees were found to be "in danger of amputation" because machines were not shut down properly before maintenance.

Less than a year after that investigation concluded, another worker, 27, suffered a serious injury when his arm was caught in a machine at the Bellefontaine location, an incident that occurred in February 2016, according to OSHA records.

OSHA issued a single "willful" citation and fine of $70,000 based on this investigation, a ruling that came down June 9, 2016.

"HBD/Thermoid is a repeat violator that continues to put workers at risk of amputations and serious injuries by ignoring safety rules for industrial machines used by workers who manufacturer rubber hoses at the company's six facilities across the country," said Kim Nelson, then-area director of OSHA's Toledo office. "The company needs to take immediate action and fix these safety issues at its facilities. Employees and their families pay the painful price when companies don't follow standards to reduce injuries."