The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Canton Drop Forge in Canton, OH, for one repeat violation and one serious violation of workplace safety standards, indicating workers at closed-die forging operation were exposed to machines lacking proper safety guarding. The company had been cited twice in the past for similar violations, according to OSHA.
Canton Drop Forge designs and manufactures closed-die forgings for manufacturers of products and systems used in aerospace, locomotive, oilfield, and power generation industries.
As detailed by OSHA, in April its regional office initiated an inspection at Canton Drop Forge in response to a complaint alleging workers in the die shop there had been exposed to machines lacking safety guards.
OSHA investigators also charged company lacked procedures to ensure equipment was turned off, to prevent it from operating during service and maintenance such as the changing of dies, resulting in a serious violation.
OSHA designates workplace safety violations as “serious,” “other than serious,” “willful,” “repeat,” or “failure to abate” a prior violation. A “serious” violation is one that constitutes a substantial probability of death or serious physical, and that the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. In these instances, mandatory penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation is proposed.
A “repeat” violation is one that is substantially similar to at least one prior violation by the same employer.
The company was cited for similar violations in April and May 2011. In April 2011, a worker was killed at the company when a loader bucket struck him. Damaged equipment contributed to that fatality, according to OSHA.
In the current case, OSHA has indicated fines totaling $77,000 for the alleged violations.
“Canton Drop Forge needs to make immediate improvements to its procedures to prevent workers from being exposed to dangerous machinery which can lead to amputations, cuts and other serious injuries,” stated Howard Eberts, OSHA’s Cleveland area director in Cleveland. Â “Lack of safety mechanisms on machines continues to be among the most frequently cited OSHA violations and that is unacceptable.”
