Two serious injuries to workers – including an amputation of a left index finger -- brought OSHA investigators to an auto parts manufacturing facility in Buford, Georgia. The agency subsequently cited Elringklinger USA Inc. for exposing workers to electrical, fall, and noise hazards. Proposed penalties total $308,906.

OSHA inspected Elringklinger USA on May 2, 2017, after an employee performing maintenance on a screen print machine was injured. In another incident on July 7, 2017, a second worker suffered an amputation of the left index finger while making an adjustment on a punch press machine. Investigations of the incidents resulted in 29 serious and three other-than-serious violations, including failing to install machine guarding, preventing unauthorized employees from performing tasks that require the control of electrical hazards, and protecting workers from excessive noise exposure.

“The injuries these hazards caused could have been prevented if this company had implemented required safety procedures,” said OSHA Area Director William Fulcher, in Atlanta. “Safe workplaces can be achieved if employees are properly protected and receive effective training.”

The inspections were part of the Agency’s regional emphasis program for safety hazards in the auto parts industry.