Texas Facility Faces Fines for Exposing Employees To Serious Workplace Hazards

Fort Worth, Texas (WorkersCompensation.com)- Molding Acquisition Corp. which operates as Rotoplas has been cited by OSHA for failing to protect its workers from serious dangers at a worksite located in Fort Worth, Texas.

According to the court documents that WorkersCompensation.com acquired the Merced, California-based manufacturer of polyethylene storage tanks faces $282,108 in fines for a total of 10 serious and two willful violations.

Some of the major violations that were noted during the inspection by the agency that took place in October and before were that employees were working without any fall protection on the top molds placed inside the arms of the Rotoline machine and they were exposed to fall hazards of approximately 18-feet. Also, the employer did not have clear and specific procedural steps for the control of hazardous energy for every piece of equipment regarding lockout/tagout. Additionally, the company did not conduct an inspection at the facility of the written lockout/tagout procedures at least on a yearly basis to make sure that the procedures were being followed.

Other violations including failing to inspect cranes or provide employees with forklift training. Some of these breaches are covered under OSHA’s National Emphasis Program on Amputations.

This program intends to target workplaces with machinery and equipment that could potentially cause amputations, while maximizing the agency’s inspection resources. The program has been extended through September 30, 2019, to identify as well as reduce workplace machine and equipment hazards that could or are likely to cause amputations.

WorkersCompensation.com reached out to OSHA, but a spokesperson did not comment before this story went to press. After the receipt of the citation and penalties the company has 15 business days to either comply with the violations, challenge the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, or request an informal hearing with OSHA’s area director.

Share This Article: