Auto supplier fined nearly $227,000 by OSHA

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued $226,937 in proposed penalties against an Ohio auto glass plant due to multiple safety issues it found during inspections.

Fuyao Glass America Inc. is a Morain, Ohio-based automotive glass supplier to brands such as Audi, Cadillac, Land Rover, Volvo and Volkswagen.

In its inspections at the plant in May and August 2016, OSHA said it found multiple machine safety violations which exposed workers to amputation and other serious injuries, as well as a lack of personal protective equipment, electrical hazards, failing to train workers about hazardous chemicals in use and unmarked exits.

In total, OSHA has cited the company for 23 serious safety violations and one other-than-serious violation, the agency said in a statement Thursday.

"Fuyao Glass America needs to protect its workers. Period," Ken Montgomery, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati said in a Thursday statement. "Since Fuyao began operations in October 2015, we have received multiple complaints and conducted eight inspections at the facility. We found safety and health violations in six of them. OSHA will remain vigilant until this rapidly expanding company protects its workers from serious safety hazards by making needed improvements to equipment, procedures and training."

Representatives from Fuyao Glass America could not immediately be reached for comment.