HENDERSONVILLE, TN — 2007-09-27 00:00:00

OSHA Inspection: OLD HICKORY HEAT TREATING COMPANY INC

Planned inspection · Health discipline

At a glance

On 2007-09-27 00:00:00, OSHA opened a planned health inspection of OLD HICKORY HEAT TREATING COMPANY INC in 204 LOUISE AVENUE, HENDERSONVILLE, TN 37075 (NAICS 332811). OSHA activity number 309632271.

What this inspection record means

OSHA opens inspections for many reasons — routine scheduling under a national or local emphasis program, an employee complaint or referral, or a follow-up after a reported injury. Opening or conducting an inspection is not itself an allegation or a finding that this employer broke any rule; any findings appear as the citations listed below, and citations can be contested, reduced, or withdrawn.

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Where did this inspection happen?

Establishment: OLD HICKORY HEAT TREATING COMPANY INC
Site address: 204 LOUISE AVENUE
City: HENDERSONVILLE
State: TN
ZIP: 37075
Mailing: P.O. BOX 1085, HENDERSONVILLE, TN 37077

What kind of inspection was it?

Inspection type: Planned (H)
Scope: Complete (A)
Discipline: Health
Advance notice: No
Union status: N

When did the case open and close?

Opened: 2007-09-27 00:00:00
Closing conference: 2007-09-27 00:00:00
Case closed: 2008-06-20 00:00:00
Last modified: 2008-07-08 00:00:00
Data loaded: 2011-10-14 16:38:47

Establishment context

NAICS code: 332811
SIC code (legacy): 3398
Employees: 10
Ownership type: A
Industry flags: Manufacturing health.

Citations

45 citations on file for this inspection.

503010501

Serious 4 instances 4 exposed

Issued: Nov 5, 2007
Abate by: Jun 10, 2008
Penalty: Initial $1,600 · Current $1,200 Reduced

Hazardous substances 88800170

General-duty citation text

T.C.A. 50-3-105(1):  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:
a.Fire and explosion from not developing and following safe work practices
or
procedures for starting up and lighting the Super Allcase Endothermic Heat
Treating
Furnace.   On 10/2/06 and 10/16/06 employees attempted to start up and
ignite this
furnace and were exposed the explosions and fires, which resulted in
serious injuries
to both.  No safe work practice or procedure had been developed for the
startup and
ignition of this furnace (and others), and a startup procedure that did
exist (although it
did not include necessary initial steps for safety) was not used or
followed.  No safe
startup and lighting procedure existed for the above-mentioned furnace
existed on
9/27/07;
b.Repeated accidents, such as those involving fire and explosion, from not
having an
accident/incident investigation procedure to discover causes and recommend
actions to
be taken to prevent recurrence of accidents/incidents of the same nature.
No
accident/incident investigation procedure existed and none was implemented
after the
10/2/06 accident mentioned above (and none existed or had been implemented
on
9/27/07).  No corrective actions were determined and implemented to
prevent the
10/16/06 accident (which involved the same cause) from occurring;
c.Potential exposure to ammonia, from not having an emergency procedure in
place to
protect employees in the event of a possible leak of anhydrous ammonia.  On
9/27/07, there was a 500 gallon tank (over 2,500 pounds) of anhydrous
ammonia
outside the plant building that was fed into the building by pipe for
eventual feed to
equipment such as endothermic heat treating furnaces.  All employees were
potentially
exposed to this hazard;
d.Potential exposure to ammonia and flammable gases, such as endothermic
gases and
natural gas, from lack of an equipment inspection/maintenance program and
schedule
for piping, valves, and other equipment in these gas delivery systems.
These gases
were piped into either the endothermic generator or endothermic heat
treating
furnaces, and lack of an equipment maintenance program made employee
exposure to
gas release hazards more likely.
Developing and enforcing safe work practices or procedures, an
accident/incident
investigation procedure with recommended corrective actions, an emergency
procedure for
potential hazardous gas releases, and an equipment inspection/maintenance
program for
hazardous chemical (including gas) delivery systems equipment are all
accepted elements of
an effective safety and health program.  With reasonable diligence, the
employer is expected
to have such an effective safety and health program.
This hazard was reasonably foreseeable in that it was recognized by the
industry and
common sense.
Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods for
correcting this hazard
are to:
a.Develop and implement a safe work practice/procedure for startup and
ignition of
endothermic heat treating furnaces, such as the Super Allcase Furnace.
Implement
employee training to familiarize employees with the necessity of following
such
procedures, then enforce the procedures;
b.Develop and implement an accident/incident investigation procedure that
defines
causes of accidents/incidents and provides recommendations to prevent their
recurrence;
c.Develop a safe emergency procedure for dealing with an anhydrous ammonia
(and
other hazardous gas) release.  Train employees in the procedure, and
practice it; and
d.Develop and implement an equipment inspection/maintenance program for
hazardous
gas delivery piping, valves, and other system components where gas leaks
are
possible due to deteriorating, damaged, or otherwise faulty equipment.
ABATEMENT VERIFICATION IS REQUIRED

Recent events (3)

2008-05-09 00:00:00 — P (S) $1200.00
2007-12-03 00:00:00 — I (S) $1200.00
2007-11-05 00:00:00 — Z (S) $1600.00