Goodyear cited for safety violations

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has been penalized a proposed $52,000 in fines by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for five safety violations discovered during an inspection of the company’s manufacturing facility.

Inspectors cited the plant for two repeat violations and proposed $42,500 in penalties after they determined management failed to perform and certify periodic inspections of its energy control procedures, according to OSHA documents.

The documents also reveal employees were using a production machine that did not have the proper safety guards.

The company had been cited for similar failures after an inspection in 2006, OSHA officials said.

“OSHA expects management to take a proactive approach to employees’ safety,” said Gei-Thae Breezley, director of the agency’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “Dangerous situations can be avoided if management conducts periodic inspections of their equipment and facilities as required by federal law. Two safety violations deemed “serious” with proposed penalties of $8,500 were reported for “using defective equipment cords that exposed employees to electrical hazards,” documents report. An “other-than-serious” violation was proposed with a $1,000 penalty for failing to correctly maintain OSHA logs.

OSHA officials said: “a serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. An other-than-serious violation is a hazardous condition that would probably not cause death or serious physical harm but would have an immediate relationship to the safety and health of employees.”

The company had 15 business days from receipt of the citations to contest them and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

“The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. puts the health and safety of its employees as a top priority in all of its facilities,” said Manufacturing Communications Manager Amy Brei. “Goodyear has received the citation from OSHA related to the Social Circle plant and is in the process of reviewing it. As part of the standard protocol, Goodyear will request an informal conference with OSHA to fully discuss the citation and proposed penalties.”

• Goodyear range of tyres