Georgia manufacturer facing $65,500 in OSHA fines

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Horton Homes Inc. and proposed penalties totaling $65,500 for safety and health violations at the company's manufactured housing facility in Eatonton, Ga.

"OSHA conducts comprehensive inspections through our Site-Specific Targeting program, which allows us to focus on workplaces with higher-than-average rates of injuries and illnesses," said Gei-Thae Breezley, director of the agency's Atlanta East Area Office. "In this case, the investigation revealed that Horton Homes failed, through poor training and unsafe workplace practices, to protect employees' safety and health."

OSHA has issued 20 citations, with proposed penalties of $59,650, for serious safety violations including inadequate fall protection, machine guard hazards, improper storage of fuel gas cylinders, and electrical hazards. Serious citations are issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.

The company also has been cited for three serious health violations: lack of an effective hearing conservation program, no hazard communication training and incorrect placement of earplugs. Proposed penalties total $4,950.

The remaining proposed penalties are for other-than-serious citations issued for improperly recording injuries and illnesses, failure to maintain sanitary bathroom facilities, and other violations.

The company has 15 working days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.