COHERENT, INC.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, COHERENT, INC. — a machine tool manufacturing facility located at 1280 BLUE HILLS AVENUE, BLOOMFIELD, CT 06002 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 16 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $56,416.50. The inspection case was opened on 2022-01-13.

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 $56,416.50 is more than 8.8× the national average of $6,436.62 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 333517). This sector encompasses 82,943 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $533.9M.

State Context: Within CT, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 33,669 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,368.63.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 16 citations spanning 12 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 11 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 3 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 1 repeat — A substantially similar violation was found during a previous inspection and the original citation has become a final order.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning June 28, 2017 with the latest abatement deadline set for August 15, 2017. Of the 16 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 $56,416.50 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 $3,526.03 falls within the standard penalty range.

Coherent, Inc.’s enforcement profile reveals a troubling pattern of recidivism and systemic neglect regarding electrical and mechanical safeguarding. The most significant finding is the repeat violation of 1910.0303(g)(1), which indicates a persistent failure to maintain required clearance around electrical equipment. This repeat designation, carrying a disproportionate $31,075 penalty, demonstrates that prior citations failed to catalyze a permanent change in safety culture. The interplay between citations for personal protective equipment (1910.132 and 1910.133) and electrical safety-related work practices (1910.335) suggests that employees were routinely exposed to arc flash and shock hazards without adequate defensive barriers or training. Furthermore, the simultaneous presence of machine guarding violations (1910.215 and 1910.219) alongside lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedural failures (1910.147) points to a breakdown in fundamental energy control protocols. In a high-precision manufacturing environment (NAICS 333517), these gaps represent high-gravity risks for amputations and electrocutions. The penalty total exceeds industry averages for similar-sized facilities, primarily due to the "Repeat" classification, signaling that OSHA inspectors viewed the hazards not as isolated oversights, but as a failure of management to sustain a compliant safety management system. The breadth of these citations across multiple subparts suggests a reactive rather than proactive approach to hazard abatement.