OSHA has cited Piping Technology and Products Inc., for 13 willful and 17 serious violations for exposing workers to the risk of amputations and other serious injuries from dangerous machinery, as well as other hazards, at the company’s Houston, Texas, facility. Proposed penalties total $1,013,000.
“Repeatedly ignoring the law while risking workers’ lives and providing misleading information to federal investigators will not be tolerated,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Employers who endanger the lives and limbs of their employees must be held accountable.”
A worker at Piping Technology contacted OSHA earlier in 2011, alleging a lack of brakes on overhead cranes and unguarded presses at the company’s facility on Holmes Road in Houston. This complaint triggered an investigation by OSHA’s Houston South Area Office. In addition to substantiating the complaint items, the inspection found that employees were permitted to cut metal I-beams and pipes without the proper machine guarding, which exposed them to possible severe injuries. Additionally, OSHA inspectors found that during machine maintenance, workers were exposed to the unexpected release of stored energy because of improper safeguards.
“Piping Technology deliberately exposed its workers who operate band saws and other dangerous machinery to amputation hazards while misleading OSHA investigators about the use of these machines,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels.
The willful violations involve the failure to guard seven band saws and to lock out all of the sources of hazardous energy to six pieces of equipment before service and maintenance. Each of the 13 citations carries a penalty of $70,000, for a total of $910,000. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.
The 17 serious violations, with penalties totaling $103,000, involve the failure to guard other machines and grinders properly, ensure that openings on electrical equipment were securely closed, provide fall protection training, and ensure that employees wore hard hats when exposed to overhead hazards. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Piping Technology had knowledge of OSHA requirements due to citations issued in 1986, 1994, 2004, and 2005 that specifically addressed the need to guard the band saws used in production processes. In 2004 and 2005, OSHA cited the company with penalties totaling $82,500 and $33,000, respectively, for a variety of workplace hazards that included lockout/tagout violations.
Initiated in June 2010, the program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations.
Cleveland, Ohio RCRA and DOT Training
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How to Author GHS Safety Data Sheets
OSHA is adopting the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. A cornerstone of GHS is the adoption of a completely revised Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
- January 27, 2012
- February 29, 2012
How to Label Hazardous Chemicals Using OSHA’s New GHS Hazcom Standard
Workplace and supplier hazard communication labels are being reinvented as OSHA adopts the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for labeling hazardous chemicals.
- February 3, 2012
- March 1, 2012
How to Prepare for OSHA Adoption of the GHS for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
This means that virtually every product label, material safety data sheet (soon to be called “safety data sheet”), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on MSDSs.
Environmental Resource Center is offering webcast training courses where you will learn how the new rule differs from current requirements, how to implement the changes, and when the changes must be implemented.
- January 20, 2012
- February 28, 2012
Register early to ensure your spot in one of the upcoming sessions. You may register online or call 1-800-537-2372 to register by phone.
RCRA, DOT, IATA/IMO and SARA Title III Training Coming to Raleigh, North Carolina Area
Safety Consultant/Trainer
Environmental Resource Center has a new opening for a safety consultant and auditor. We are looking for a former OSHA CSHO, OSHA trainer, or state inspector for this position in our Cary, North Carolina, office. Applicants should have excellent writing and speaking skills and be willing to travel 7–14 days per month. We are looking for an expert in all of the General Industry and Construction standards who is capable of performing audits of industrial facilities as well as conducting on-site training.
Strong consideration will be given to applicants who also have experience providing HAZWOPER, Hazcom, lockout/tagout, confined spaces, and machine guarding training.
The position includes maintenance of training materials (books and presentations), working on consulting projects, development of classes and computer-based training programs, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
OSHA Issues Corrections and Technical Amendments to 16 Standards
OSHA has corrected typographical errors in, and made non-substantive technical amendments to 16 OSHA standards. These revisions do not affect the substantive requirements or coverage of the standards, do not modify or revoke existing rights or obligations, and do not establish new rights or obligations. The revisions span the following standards:
- Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (29 CFR 1910.120)
- Permit-Required Confined Spaces (29 CFR 1910.146)
- Medical Services and First Aid (29 CFR 1910.151 and 1926.50)
- Servicing Multi-Piece and Single-Piece Rim Wheels (29 CFR 1910.177)
- Mechanical Power Presses (29 CFR 1910.217)
- Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills (29 CFR 1910.261)
- Sawmills (29 CFR 1910.265)
- Grain Handling Facilities (29 CFR 1910.272)
- Commercial Diving Operations (29 CFR 1910.440)
- 13 Carcinogens (4-Nitrobiphenyl, etc.) (29 CFR 1910.1003)
- Lead (29 CFR 1910.1025 and 1926.62)
- Bloodborne Pathogens (29 CFR 1910.1030)
- Air Contaminants (29 CFR 1915.1000)
The effective date for the corrections and technical amendments was December 27, 2011.
Roofing Contractor Fined for Lack of Fall Protection at Three Wisconsin Work Sites
OSHA cited Martha M. Alvarez, a residential roofing contractor based in Houston, Texas, with six safety violations for failing to provide fall protection at three Wisconsin job sites. OSHA’s inspections were conducted at two sites in Cambridge, Wisconsin, and one in Janesville, Wisconsin, under a local emphasis program for fall protection. Proposed fines total $102,300.
“Falls are the leading cause of death and injury in the construction industry. Employers such as Martha M. Alvarez have a responsibility to ensure that workers are provided with and trained in the use of required fall protection,” said Kim Stille, director of OSHA’s Madison Area Office. “OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
Three willful violations are for failing to provide fall protection on commercial and/or residential roofs at the three inspected sites. Each violation carries a proposed penalty of $30,800.
Three serious violations, one for each job site, are for failing to implement a safety and health program. Each violation carries a proposed penalty of $3,300.
OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems be in use when workers perform residential construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level.
Local emphasis programs are intended to address hazards or industries that pose a particular risk to workers in the jurisdiction of a particular OSHA regional or area office, and they are accompanied by outreach to area employers.
Martha M. Alvarez has been inspected six times by OSHA since November 2010, resulting in citations for 13 violations. The citations from these most recent inspections can be viewed at:
$95,000 for Exposing Workers at Grain Company to Unsafe Working Conditions
OSHA has issued LaBolt Farmers Grain Company, Inc., in LaBolt, South Dakota, 13 citations for exposing workers to unsafe conditions at its grain handling facility where a worker was caught in a moving bin sweep auger and suffered severe injuries to his leg and arm. Proposed penalties total $95,920.
“Despite awareness of the hazardous nature of grain bin entries and of the means and methods to prevent such hazards, the employer failed to develop and enforce recognized safe work practices,” said Tom Deutscher, OSHA’s area director in Bismarck. OSHA issued LaBolt four willful, six repeat, and three serious citations.
The willful citations address the alleged failure of the employer to develop and implement a written confined space program, ensure all equipment that presents a danger is neutralized, complete confined space and grain bin entry permits, and provide a competent person as an entrance observer. The six repeat citations address the alleged failure to effectively guard floor openings, pulleys, and vertical belts; control fugitive grain dust accumulations; develop a written housekeeping program; and utilize approved electrical equipment. A repeat violation is when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. Similar violations were cited in February 2008.
The alleged serious violations address the failure to provide effective training for workers entering confined spaces and grain bins, provide training for employees assigned special tasks, and perform atmospheric testing.
OSHA has fined grain operators in Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, and Nebraska following preventable fatalities and injuries.
OSHA Cites The Davey Tree Surgery Co. After Worker Fatality
OSHA has cited a Livermore, California-based utility service contractor, The Davey Tree Surgery Co., for alleged workplace safety violations after a worker was killed at an Idaho City, Idaho, job site in June. The company is part of Kent, Ohio-based, The Davey Tree Expert Co.
“In this case, the employer failed to adhere to safe practices, which resulted in the death of an employee when he was struck by a falling tree,” said Dean Ikeda, OSHA’s regional administrator in Seattle. “The hazardous nature of tree clearing operations requires that employers take an aggressive and comprehensive stance toward workplace safety.”
OSHA has issued one citation for serious violations involving failing to have adequate first-aid supplies, ensure that workers maintain a safe distance from trees being felled, evaluate the work area prior to the tree being felled, provide training for tool and equipment use, and provide training for determining tree length.
One other-than-serious violation has been cited for failing to report the fatality to OSHA within eight hours and to use the agency’s toll-free hotline to report the incident after hours. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
This employee fatality was the company’s second in 2011. The first fatality occurred in Pennsylvania on February 24, under similar circumstances, and resulted in similar citations.
Proposed penalties for the latest violations total $31,175.
OSHA Cites Creamer Sanzari Joint Venture
OSHA cited Creamer Sanzari Joint Venture of Hackensack, New Jersey, for seven alleged serious safety violations found at the Passaic River bridge project in Clifton, New Jersey. Proposed penalties total $41,580.
The work site, where the company was installing a replacement bridge as well as making major road improvements along state Route 3, was one of many area construction sites to undergo a planned inspection by OSHA due to the high-hazard nature of the industry.
The following conditions resulted in citations: ring buoys, a lifeboat, and fall protection from a walking surface were not provided for employees exposed to a fall in excess of 12 feet; high-visibility materials were not used to mark the top rails of a guardrail system made of wire rope material; bidirectional machines were not equipped with an operational horn; all protruding steel was not protected against impalement hazards; and employees were permitted to work with machines that had a deficient lockout/tagout system to prevent unexpected start ups.
“The construction industry continues to remain one of the most dangerous, and heavy highway and bridge work entails a variety of unique hazards,” said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA’s Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. “The company needs to ensure that violations of this nature are not repeated.”
OSHA Fines Model Screw Products Inc. $110,000 for Willful and Serious Violations
OSHA has cited Model Screw Products Inc., of Clearwater, Florida, for 18 safety violations. OSHA opened an investigation after receiving a complaint alleging that PVC piping was inappropriately being used for compressed air. Proposed penalties total $109,800.
OSHA’s inspection found that PVC piping used to transport compressed air had ruptured three times in June and in the third instance, caused an employee to suffer hearing loss and trauma. One willful violation with a penalty of $63,000 has been cited for using PVC piping to transport compressed air.
“Management knew the dangers associated with transporting compressed air through PVC piping but chose to put employees at risk. Unfortunately, the practice resulted in a worker being injured,” said Les Grove, OSHA’s area director in Tampa. “It is the employer’s responsibility to assess workplace hazards and ensure that corrective measures are taken to protect employees.”
Nine serious violations with penalties of $42,300 have been cited for failing to develop or utilize lockout/tagout procedures for the energy sources of equipment, having two locks on an emergency exit door that could inhibit exiting from inside, permitting employees to use inappropriate gloves, exposing workers to metal cutting fluids, failing to lock out the energy sources of equipment during servicing, not training workers on how to use fire extinguishers, having an unguarded band saw blade, allowing compressed air to be pressurized in excess of 30 pounds per square inch for cleaning, and not training employees on the hazards of the chemicals they use.
Eight other-than-serious violations with $4,500 in penalties include allowing an unauthorized representative to sign the OSHA 300A injury and illness forms for 2008 and 2010, not marking an exit door, failing to certify that forklift operators were trained and evaluated, permitting forklifts to be used prior to a daily inspection, improperly using an outlet box, and having an inadequate hazard communication program.
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