$225,000 Fine: OSHA Slaps Lakewood Metal Firm After Worker Death

LAKEWOOD, CO – A Lakewood metal fabricating company was cited by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and fined $225,046 for machine safety hazards after an employee was crushed to death by machinery in March.

On Sept. 20, OSHA cited Vforge Inc., a privately held metal manufacturing company, for two "willful" and two "serious" safety violations for "failing to develop lockout/tagout procedures, provide adequate machine guarding, and train employees in a language they understand," the agency said.

The accident happened around 1:02 p.m. on March 23 at the Vforge facility at 5567 W. 6th Avenue in Lakewood. According to OSHA, a worker was "exposed to crushing injuries" while providing maintenance on a metal press machine with a crushing pressure of 100 lbs. per square inch. The OSHA complaint said the worker did not speak English and was not adequately trained in how to close down machines for die replacement, cleaning or servicing. Later, at the end of March, OSHA inspectors found that machines on the floor could "cycle unexpectedly due to operator's panel input and/or equipment malfunction," the report said.

Vforge identified the worker as Naing Mana, 32, in a statement from Jon Young, vice president and general manager:

All of us at Vforge are still grieving the loss of our worker, Naing Mana, and have been in touch with his family continually, supporting them as best we can.

Vforge places the highest value on safety. Nothing is more important to our company than providing a safe work environment for our employees and providing the training they need to perform their jobs safely.

Respectfully, Vforge disagrees with many of OSHA’s conclusions, but we look forward to working with the agency towards resolution. Working safely every shift and every day has been and will continue to be our focus at Vforge.

Vforge Inc. has 15 business days from the receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the agency said. The company was ordered to abate by Sept. 28 some safety hazards found by inspectors. The company was placed in OSHA's "Severe Violator Enforcement Program," the agency said.

"Employers are legally required to implement appropriate procedures and provide training to protect their employees' safety," said OSHA Englewood Area Office Director David Nelson in a statement. "This tragedy could have been prevented if safety measures were in place to prevent machinery from starting while being serviced."

Lakewood Police spokesman John Romero confirmed that a death investigation took place at VForge on March 23. "We found no evidence of criminal activity," Romero said.

The family-owned Vforge, Inc. started in 1999, and employs more than 60 people in Lakewood, the company said in a statement. The company produces "high-precision, high-performance parts for the medical, aerospace, recreational and transportation industries," according to promotional materials. Vforge hires employees from the "refugee resettlement and substance recovery" communities, the company said.

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