Pennsylvania Manufacturer Cited By Osha

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it is citing a Pennsylvania manufacturer for multiple serious workplace safety violations after an investigation took place in March. OSHA proposed fines of $55,000 to accompany the citations against Danco Precision Inc. of Phoenixville.

In total, 14 safety violations were discovered at the company’s manufacturing facility, where workers produce lamination dies, metal stampings, electrical magnetic cores, carbide dies, specialty tools and precision machine parts that are sold internationally. About 40 workers are employed by the company.

The director of OSHA’s Philadelphia Area Office said that the violations “pose serious risks to Danco Precision’s workers and must be corrected immediately.” He continued that “OSHA will continue to hold employers legally responsible when they fail to comply with the law and keep workers safe.”

Here is a summary of the serious violations, which OSHA defines as posing a substantial risk of death or serious physical harm that the employer knew or should have known about:

• failing to control potentially hazardous energy;
• failing to have and implement a hazard communication plan;
• failing to provide barriers to protect employees from falls;
• failing to provide protective equipment for various operations;
• failing to provide and certify powered industrial truck training;
• failing to provide hand tools to clear machine scraps;
• failing to provide material safety data sheets;
• failing to implement die-setting procedures;
• failing to inspect alloy steel slings;
• failing to address deficiencies with mechanical power presses;
• failing to use safety blocks when setting dies; and
• failing to perform inspections of all presses and properly label containers of chemicals.

Additionally, there was one other-than serious violation for failing to create and post an annual summary of injuries and illnesses. This is a type of violation that has a direct relationship to the safety and health of employees, but does not cause death or serious harm.

The investigation was part of OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Program, which focuses on industries with high injury and illness rates. Luckily, OSHA was able to flag the workplace safety hazards before someone was hurt or killed on the job.

Source: OSHA Regional News, “US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Phoenixville, Pa., die manufacturer for serious workplace hazards,” Aug. 23, 2012