RUSKIN COMPANY

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, RUSKIN COMPANY — a sheet metal work manufacturing facility located at ONE RUSKIN WAY, FAIRMONT, WV 26554 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 13 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $18,455.00. The inspection case was opened on 2009-02-03.

The volume of citations issued during this inspection suggests systematic compliance deficiencies rather than isolated incidents. Facilities with 10 or more citations typically face comprehensive abatement requirements and may be subject to follow-up inspections.

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 $18,455.00 is more than 2.9× the national average of $6,436.62 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 332322). This sector encompasses 82,943 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $533.9M.

State Context: Within WV, this facility's penalty places it at the 98th percentile among 14,536 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,060.20.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 13 citations spanning 8 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 5 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 8 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning February 24, 2009 with the latest abatement deadline set for August 15, 2011. Of the 13 total citations, 8 (62%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, suggesting partial progress toward required corrective actions.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $18,455.00 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 $1,419.62 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement profile for Ruskin Company’s Fairmont facility reveals a multifaceted breakdown in fundamental industrial hygiene and physical safety controls, characteristic of systemic operational neglect rather than isolated lapses. The high density of "Serious" violations concentrated within the 1910.107 standards indicates a critical failure to manage combustible residues and spray-finishing operations, creating an unmitigated risk of flash fires or explosions in the sheet metal manufacturing process. This hazard was compounded by deficiencies in respiratory protection (1910.134) and personal protective equipment (1910.132), suggesting that workers were not only exposed to hazardous atmospheres but were also deprived of the necessary equipment to survive an incident. Furthermore, the citations involving lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures (1910.147) and welding safety (1910.252) highlight a recurring theme of inadequate energy control and thermal hazard management. The penalty total, while moderate for the aggregate count, reflects a high gravity assessment for the fire and electrical standards, signaling that OSHA inspectors identified immediate threats to life and limb. The presence of multiple Gravity 05 violations across disparate standards—spanning electrical installations, welding, and spray finishing—demonstrates a pervasive lack of a functional safety management system. For a NAICS 332322 facility, this pattern suggests that production speed likely took precedence over the rigorous maintenance of engineering controls and administrative safety protocols.