Kumho Tire in Macon faces $272K in fines after ‘preventable tragedy’ of worker’s death

A tire manufacturing facility in Macon-Bibb faces nearly $300,000 in fines after federal investigators found 15 safety violations at its facility in wake of a former employee’s death in April.

Federal safety inspectors found that Kumho Tire, which has a history of safety and health violations, could have prevented the death of 57-year-old Steven Brookins, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday.

“Kumho Tire Georgia has repeatedly failed to protect its employees, and this time that negligence resulted in a preventable tragedy,” OSHA Area Director Joshua Turner said in a press release. “Every year, thousands of these incidents occur, causing serious and sometimes fatal injuries. There is no excuse for endangering the lives of the employees who keep their operations running.”

Brookins, who was a maintenance worker at the company, was fatally injured after the machine he was working on unexpectedly started, according to the agency.

Investigators found that “the company bypassed safety procedures meant to prevent machinery from accidentally starting during maintenance” by relying on basic on/off controls and sensors, the release said.

OSHA also found that Kumho Tire lacked adequate machine guarding designed to protect workers from caught-in hazards, as well as missing guardrails and uncovered holes that would leave workers exposed to fall hazards.

The company was cited for one repeat, 12 serious and two other-than-serious violations. It was also cited for repeatedly failing to train authorized employees to safely perform servicing and maintenance activities.

“Kumho Tire Georgia has a substantial history of non-compliance with safety and health requirements,” the release said.

The facility has been inspected nine times since 2015, resulting in 52 violations.

This includes a 19-year-old construction worker who fell to his death at the plant’s construction site in 2015.

Kumho Tire Georgia Inc. faces a total of $271,930 in penalties.

Kumho Tire Georgia is a Chinese and Korean-owned tire manufacturer that employs approximately 560 workers from both Korea and the U.S. The facility has been in operation in the U.S. since 2016.

This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 9:51 AM.