Milwaukee-based manufacturer
Tramont Manufacturing LLC was cited $216,307 for machine and noise hazards identified by the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Labor announced Tuesday.
Tramont Manufacturing manufacturers tanks, sub-base tanks, enclosures and other products for industrial engine-generators in a 175,000 square-foot factory in Milwaukee. In 2014, Tramont joined the UCA Group, which is based in Illinois and has manufacturing and engineering operations in North America, Europe and Asia.
In January 2021, OSHA inspectors returned to Tramont in a follow-up investigation for a previous inspection in 2020 that revealed dangerous machine and noise hazards.
Following its investigation, OSHA inspectors cited Tramont with four repeated, nine serious and three other-than-serious safety violations for again exposing workers to unguarded machines as well as noise, eye and face hazards, according to a press release.
“We have been diligently working to meet some of the few remaining requirements,” said Vijay Raichura, Tramont Manufacturing executive vice president. “We’ve worked with OSHA for the last few months and we have fixed most of the issues.”
Tramont’s repeat offenses include citations for unguarded machinery, employees operating without eye or face protection, employees exposed to noise above permissible decibel levels and failure to establish and maintain an audiometric testing program.
New citations were for unsafe conditions, lack of employee training, improperly installed equipment, unguarded machinery, improper storage of respirators, infrequent inspections for a crane as well as for an energy control procedure, improperly labeled hazardous chemical containers, unmaintained sorbent beds and filters of compressors, failure to maintain a clear space of three feet on all sides of a walk-in spray painting booth and for employee consumption of food or beverage in an area exposed to a toxic material.
“Ignoring hazards identified in earlier OSHA inspections suggests that Tramont Manufacturing is not committed to protecting its workers’ safety and health,” OSHA area director Chris Zortman said in a statement. “Amputation and hearing loss are irreversible life-altering injuries. Companies must implement required safety and health measures to prevent employee exposure to these hazards.”
In June 2021, OSHA launched a regional emphasis program that focuses on enforcing efforts to promote hearing conservation programs and reducing occupational noise exposure. By law, employers are required to implement a hearing conservation program when the average noise exposure over eight working hours reaches or exceeds 85 decibels, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compares to the sound of city traffic (from inside the vehicle) or a gas-powered leaf blower.
