58649 - METALSA STRUCTURAL PRODUCTS INC

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, 58649 - METALSA STRUCTURAL PRODUCTS INC — a motor vehicle manufacturing facility located at 301 BILL BYRAN BLVD, HOPKINSVILLE, KY 42240 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 5 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $77,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2016-11-30.

Cumulative penalties significantly exceed the national median for OSHA enforcement actions. The penalty amount suggests multiple high-gravity citations, indicating conditions that presented a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to employees.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers — 22% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 2.3 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $77,000.00 is more than 12.0× the national average of $6,436.62 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 336111). This sector encompasses 82,943 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $533.9M.

State Context: Within KY, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 26,562 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,754.01.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 5 citations spanning 3 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 2 repeat — A substantially similar violation was found during a previous inspection and the original citation has become a final order. 1 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 2 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning April 21, 2017 with the latest abatement deadline set for May 1, 2017. Of the 5 total citations, 0 (0%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $77,000.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $15,400.00 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement profile for Metalsa Structural Products Inc. reveals a critical breakdown in hazardous energy control protocols, specifically concerning the Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) standard. The citation of two Repeat violations under 1910.147(c)(4)(i) and 1910.147(c)(6)(i) underscores a systemic failure to maintain and audit machine-specific procedures. In a high-volume automotive structural manufacturing environment, these deficiencies represent a severe risk of catastrophic injury or fatality during maintenance cycles, as they indicate that previously identified gaps in energy isolation were left uncorrected. The $77,000 penalty, driven primarily by these Repeat classifications, is significantly higher than the industry average for NAICS 336111, signaling that OSHA identified a recidivist pattern regarding mechanical safeguarding. The combination of inadequate procedures and a failure to conduct periodic inspections suggests that the facility’s safety management system lacked the necessary oversight to ensure that theoretical safety protocols translated to floor-level compliance. While the Serious violation under 1910.147(d)(4) confirms failures in the actual application of lockout devices, the Repeat designations serve as a legal red flag, indicating that management was on notice regarding these hazards from prior inspections. This record reflects a facility struggling with institutionalizing safety culture, where technical non-compliance in high-hazard areas like energy isolation has become a persistent, rather than isolated, operational risk.