Feds cite Ohio hardwood floor manufacturer for repeated safety violations

An Ohio hardwood floor manufacturer is in trouble with the feds, but the employee who lost part of an arm while troubleshooting an issue with a saw machine is the one who will bear the brunt of the matter going forward.

Appalachian Wood Floors Inc. ‒ operating as Graf Custom Hardwood ‒ has a long history of federal safety violations, which we learned after the incident in May of this year in which a 23-year-old worker lost part of an arm.

OSHA inspectors determined the saw’s safety device had been bypassed, and this allowed the worker to become entangled in the machines’ rotating blades at the facility, where raw wood is processed into finished flooring.

After the incident, OSHA opened a concurrent inspection at a second company facility where, since 2022, five inspections have identified recurring safety violations, leading to Appalachian Wood Floors’ inclusion in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

According to the Department of Labor, the company received citations for eight repeat, two serious and four other-than-serious violations for which OSHA assessed $255,528 in proposed penalties.

DOL inspectors found the company failed to adequately train employees at both locations in lockout/tagout procedures and did not mandate the use of lockout/tagout when troubleshooting machines, changing blades, cleaning rollers and changing colors. Inspectors noted unguarded in-going nip points of chains and sprockets on a tilt hoist and chop saw and found multiple electrical safety violations as well as a lack of forklift training.

“A preventable tragedy has left a young man with a permanent, life-altering injury,” said OSHA Area Director Ken Montogomery. “Bypassing machine safety procedures puts workers at extreme risk. Appalachian Wood Floors must make worker safety a priority by ensuring proper training, enforcing safety standards, and maintaining machine safety guards to prevent future incidents.”