U.S. fines Montco firm $822,000 for pattern of workplace injuries

Lloyd Industries, a Montgomeryville manufacturer of ventilation, duct, and fire-safety products, has been hit with $822,000 in fines by the U.S. Department of Labor for a series of workplace-safety violations.

Labor Department officials said Monday that they launched an investigation of the company in November, after an employee lost three fingers operating a metal saw that was not equipped with safety guards. The owner of the company, William Lloyd, was required by law to provide such protection, the Labor Department said.

"We have previously inspected Lloyd Industries and found machine-guarding violations," said Assistant Labor Secretary David Michaels. "Mr. Lloyd in previous inspections told us that the machine guards slowed production."

The Labor Department cited Lloyd for failing to provide the safety guards on machines that cut and shape metal, as well as for failing to monitor employees for hearing loss and for failing to provide hearing protection.

The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that since 2000, 40 Lloyd employees had suffered serious lacerations as well as crushed, fractured, dislocated. and amputated fingers.

"William Lloyd and Lloyd Industries are serial violators of OSHA safety standards, and their workers have paid the price," Michaels said.

Reached by telephone at his Montgomeryville plant Monday, William Lloyd declined to comment.

The Labor Department said the fines announced Monday bring total fines levied on Lloyd to more than $1 million since 2000.

Lloyd Industries is a major manufacturer of air-conditioning and heating duct equipment. In addition to its Montgomery County factory, it has facilities in Florida and does business throughout the United States, Asia and the Middle East.

According to the company's website, Lloyd equipment has been used in New York's Chrysler Building, the Venetian Macao casino and hotel in Macau, Yankee Stadium, and other facilities.

There are about 70 employees at the Montgomery County plant, the Labor Department said.

Under federal regulations, Lloyd could pay the fines, and install the safety devices and implement procedures the Labor Department says are lacking. Or he could contest the citations, and the process would ultimately go before an administrative law judge.

Until a final ruling, the Labor Department would have no legal authority to force Lloyd Industries to make the safety improvements, department officials said.

Michaels said Lloyd had been advised of the safety violations in the past. In addition, Michaels said, the employee who lost fingers last year had informed Lloyd that the machine was malfunctioning before the accident.

"A responsible employer would have guarded that machine immediately," Michaels said.

Source: Philly.com