The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has

cited HBD/Thermoid Inc. for eleven safety and health violations, comprised of one wilfull and

ten serious violations. They come in response to an inspection of a worksite in Bellefontain, OH

in October of 2014. This inspection was initiated as part of the OSHA Severe Violator

Enforcement Program, which the company was in due to a workplace fatality in May of 2014

resulting from a hazard involving an industrial machine in the company’s North Carolina facility.

These violations are for hazards relating to amputation risks associated with industrial machines,

a lack of safety devices, a lack of guardrails, and lockout tagout issues. These violations carry

proposed penalties of $134,000.

“HBD/Thermoid must act now and put required safety guards on large industrial machines.

These machines are used by workers who cut and manufacturer rubber hoses at the company’s

six facilities across the country,” said Kim Nelson, area director of OSHA’s Toledo office. “Each

year, more than 200,000 workers are injured by machines in the United States. Each day, an

average of 12 workers are killed on-the-job. Employees and their families pay the painful price

emotionally and economically when companies don’t follow standards to reduce injuries.”

This is another prime example of what can happen to a company if OSHA citations are not

resolved. Should your company ever go through an OSHA inspection and the inspectors uncover

hazards which need to be addressed, it is always a good idea to hire a qualified third party

occupational safety and health auditing firm. This firm will then help you to address the concern,

eliminate the hazard, and create procedures to ensure long-term safety.

If you have any questions about this case or about third party safety audits, please contact us. If

you have anything to add about the importance of third party safety audits, please leave a

comment.