OSHA Inspection: KOMATSU AMERICA CORP.

Issued

Feb 12, 1999

Abate by

Mar 8, 1999

Penalty

Initial $2,125 · Current $2,125

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from
recognized hazards that
were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees in that employees
were exposed to the hazard of being struck by a flying part:
On or about October 15, 1998, in Department 344, employees performing
maintenance on the
Bullard 66 inch DYAN-AU-TAPE vertical turret lathe, machine #6048, were
exposed to the
hazard of being struck by the EF 2754 right steering arm for the model
#930 truck.  Employees
were exposed to this hazard, due to the fact that the lathe was not
maintained in a safe operating
condition and the employer did not provide for the following of safe
practices in maintaining the
lathe.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to
correct this hazard is
to comply with ANSI B11.6 - 1984, American National Standard for Machine
Tools-Lathes-
Safety Requirements for Construction, Care, and Use, paragraph 6.1.4 which
states the
following: It shall be the responsibility of the employer to maintain the
lathe in safe operating
condition and to provide for the following of safe practices in
maintaining the lathe.
The vertical turret lathe must be maintained in a safe operating condition
by ensuring that the
jog button is maintained in an operative condition.
The employer must provide for the following of safe practices in
maintaining the lathe by
ensuring the employees follow the requirement listed in paragraph 11 on
page iii of the Service
and Maintenance Manual for the vertical turret lathe which states the
following:  After machine
shutdown, always assume the set-up had been tampered with.  Always
re-check rigidity of the
set-up before restarting.