Federal OSHA Cites L.A. Muffler Maker, Proposes $91,300 Fine

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration accused a Los Angeles muffler manufacturer Tuesday of committing 276 safety violations and proposed penalties of $91,300.

The firm, Pace Setter Inc., failed to properly install safety guards on numerous punch press machines at its South-Central Los Angles plant “although the company had a history of five crushing amputation injuries to employees dating back to 1983,” OSHA said.

This is the largest fine that federal OSHA has proposed for a California company since taking over responsibility for private-sector health and safety in the state July 1.

“It appears to us this company has a callous disregard for the safety and welfare of their employees,” said Hamilton Fairburn, acting deputy OSHA regional administrator in San Francisco. “The company apparently ignored the advice of the machine safety experts who had outlined proper guarding devices to prevent the accidents.”

Richard Stephens, a spokesman for the California Department of Industrial Relations, said Cal/OSHA had issued 16 citations for safety violations at Pace Setter between 1983 and July 1 of this year, when the state’s program was abolished.

The penalties that OSHA proposed Tuesday include $80,000 for eight alleged instances of willful violations at $10,000 each (the failure to put guards around the machines) and $11,300 for 54 alleged instances of serious violations, said Joe Kirkbride, a Labor Department spokesman in San Francisco. The latter group of 54 violations ranged from failure to protect “start buttons” on presses to prevent accidental operation, to failure to adequately cover electrical equipment to prevent shocks to workers.

Kirkbride said no penalties were proposed for 214 other alleged violations categorized as non-serious. These included lack of safety training, failure to keep maintenance records and improper electrical wiring, among others.

Action Called Unfair

Jim Stavis, Pace Setter’s vice president, said the company will contest the allegations. “We feel the penalties are grossly unfair,” he said.

The inspection of the plant at 200 E. Slauson Ave. was done by safety compliance officers from OSHA’s Long Beach area office. George Godzak, the safety supervisor in that office, said that he regards the situation at Pace Setter as “very serious.” He said there are a number of presses at the company that still are “not properly guarded.”

“We can’t permit them to operate presses that are not properly guarded,” Godzak said. Unless the company takes action voluntarily, he said, federal OSHA will have to obtain a court order to prevent the company from operating the machines.

Pace Setter has requested an informal conference with OSHA officials on the situation. It is scheduled for next Tuesday.

The company has 15 days to accept the findings, abate the hazards and pay the penalties or appeal the citations to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent adjudicative body based in Washington.

Incidents Listed

Kirkbride said the first of the five finger-crushing incidents occurred May 31, 1983, followed by others in 1985 and one on July 31 of this year, when a Pace Setter employee amputated the left thumb, index, middle and ring fingers and half the hand while operating an unguarded punch press.

Asked if the company was contemplating any changes as a result of the OSHA action, Stavis said: “We’ve already made several changes since OSHA first visited us in October, as well as changes” made after the July incident.