OSHA Inspection: MAHLE ENGINE COMPONENTS USA, INC.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,500 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(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 crushing hazards from falling loads:    a.  In the area of the north and south casting lines, there were three below-the-hook lifting devices that were attached to an overhead crane's hook that were used to lift metal coils up to 6,000 pounds throughout the casting lines.  The lifting devices did not have an identification plate or any other means to indicate the lifting device's lifting capacity, thereby exposing the employees to a struck-by or caught-between hazard.      b. Located in the casting department in the bell annealer section of the facility, there was a below-the-hook lifting device (spider) that was used for lifting alloy pots that did not have an identification plate or any other means to indicate the lifting device's lifting capacity, thereby exposing the employees to a struck-by or caught-between hazard.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.23(c)(3):     Regardless of height, open-sided floors, walkways, platforms, or runways above or adjacent to dangerous equipment, pickling or galvanizing tanks, degreasing units, and similar hazards shall be guarded with a standard railing and toe board:    a. Located on the south casting line between the oven exit and the flattening mill, there was a stairway that employees used to gain access from one side of the casting line to the other.  This stairway did not have any guardrails installed on the side of the north line tocco, thereby exposing the employees to the ingoing nip points of the v-guides.      b. Located on the south casting line between the oven exit and the flattening mill, there was a stairway that employees used to gain access from one side of the casting line to the other.  This stairway had a top rail installed, but no mid rail, thereby exposing the employees to the ingoing nip points of the v-guides.      c. Located on the north casting line between the oven exit and the flattening mill, there was a stairway that employees used to gain access from one side of the casting line to the other.  This stairway did not have any guardrails installed on the side of the north line tocco, thereby exposing the employees to the ingoing nip points of the v-guides.     d. Located on the north casting line between the oven exit and the flattening mill, there was a stairway that employees used to gain access from one side of the casting line to the other.  This stairway had a top rail installed, but no mid rail, thereby exposing the employees to the ingoing nip points of the rough mill's v-guides.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,500 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.24(f):     "Stair treads." All treads shall be reasonably slip-resistant and the nosings shall be of nonslip finish. Welded bar grating treads without nosings are acceptable providing the leading edge can be readily identified by personnel descending the stairway and provided the tread is serrated or is of definite nonslip design. Rise height and tread width shall be uniform throughout any flight of stairs including any foundation structure used as one or more treads of the stairs:    a. Located on the south casting line between the oven exit and the flattening mill, there was moving coil material that ran across a stairway increasing the height and changing the uniformity of a tread on a fixed stairway to walk through the casting line.  Employees were exposed to the hazards of tripping and falling while accessing the casting lines by use of this stairway.      b. Located on the north casting line between the oven exit and the flattening mill, there was moving coil material that ran across a stairway increasing the height and changing the uniformity of a tread on a fixed stairway to walk through the casting line.  Employees were exposed to the hazards of tripping and falling while accessing the casting lines by use of this stairway.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.37(a)(3):     Exit routes must be free and unobstructed. No materials or equipment may be placed, either permanently or temporarily, within the exit route. The exit access must not go through a room that can be locked, such as a bathroom, to reach an exit or exit discharge, nor may it lead into a dead-end corridor. Stairs or a ramp must be provided where the exit route is not substantially level:    a. Located on the south casting line between the oven exit and the flattening mill, there was a stairway that had coil material that would move horizontally across the middle of the stairway that employees would step over in order to gain access from one side of the casting line to the other.  The moving coil material served as an obstruction if the employees were required to exit the facility in an emergency situation, thereby exposing the employees to the hazards associated if an emergency were to occur.     b. Located on the north casting line between the oven exit and the flattening mill, there was a stairway that had coil material that would move horizontally across the middle of stairway that employees would step over in order to gain access from one side of the casting line to the other.  The moving coil material served as an obstruction if the employees were required to exit the facility in an emergency situation, thereby exposing the employees to the hazards associated if an emergency were to occur.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $4,400 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.27(b)(1)(ii):     The distance between rungs, cleats, and steps shall not exceed 12 inches and shall be uniform throughout the length of the ladder:    a. Located near Slitter #1, a platform where employees tended to hot alloy pots, was a fixed ladder that had significant damage to its metal rung.  The ladder's damaged rung left a 6 inch space between the damaged rung and the next rung up the ladder that had 12 inch interval rungs, which did not allow for the rung spacing to be uniform, thereby exposing the employees to a fall hazard from the ladder of a max height of approximately five feet.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $4,400 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.132(c):     Design. All personal protective equipment shall be of safe design and construction for the work to be performed:    a. Located at the hot alloy ovens, employees were required to pour molten metal by hand with ceramic ladles.  They were only provided with hot mill gloves, metatarsals, and flame-resistant clothing to protect them from a spill.  The employees were not provided with leggings or spats, thereby exposing the employees to burn injuries from the molten metal.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $6,600 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.135(a)(1):     The employer shall ensure that each affected employee wears a protective helmet when working in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects:    a. Located throughout the casting department, employees were operating overhead cranes as a primary means to move material, such as, 6,000 pound coils from one location to another at heights above the employee's heads without any means of head protection, thereby exposing the employees to a struck-by hazard from the hoisted material or from the crane's hook and/or block.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.179(n)(3)(vi):     The employer shall require that the operator avoid carrying loads over people:    a. Located throughout the casting department, employees were operating overhead cranes as a primary means to move material, such as, 6,000 pound coils from one location to another at heights above the employee's heads without any indication to the employees that a load would be carried over their heads, thereby exposing the employees to a struck-by hazard from the hoisted material or from the crane's hook and/or block.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,500 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.184(f)(1):     Sling use. Employers must use only wire-rope slings that have permanently affixed and legible identification markings as prescribed by the manufacturer, and that indicate the recommended safe working load for the type(s) of hitch(es) used, the angle upon which it is based, and the number of legs if more than one:    a. Located in the casting department, there was a 1/2 inch wire-rope sling that was used for lifting approximately 6,000 pound steel coils that did not have any indication of the wire rope's capacity, thereby exposing the employees to caught-between and struck-by hazards.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,500 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.184(f)(5)(iii):     Removal from service.  Wire rope slings shall be immediately removed from service if any of the following conditions are present:      Kinking, crushing, bird caging or any other damage resulting in distortion of the wire rope structure:    a.  Located on the sling rack at the north casting line, there were six mechanically-spliced 1/2 inch wire rope slings that were primarily used in part to lift up to 6,000 pound steel coils throughout the facility.  These coils caused significant kinking to the wire rope that the employees used, thereby exposing the employees to struck-by and/or caught-between hazards.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.212(a)(3)(ii):     The point of operation of machines whose operation exposes an employee to injury, shall be guarded. The guarding device shall be in conformity with any appropriate standards therefor, or, in the absence of applicable specific standards, shall be so designed and constructed as to prevent the operator from having any part of his body in the danger zone during the operating cycle:    a. Located on the north casting line, employees were required to insert 6 inch x 9 inch Scotchbrite pads by hand under moving coil material in order to remove metal shavings.  These pads were inserted inches away from the point-of-operation on a flattening roll machine that was used to shape the coil material that did not have any means of guarding the point-of-operation where the coil material fed into the equipment, thereby exposing the employees to an amputation and/or caught-in hazards.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $4,400 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.243(c)(3):     Vertical portable grinders. Safety guards used on machines known as right angle head or vertical portable grinders shall have a maximum exposure angle of 180 deg., and the guard shall be so located so as to be between the operator and the wheel during use. Adjustment of guard shall be such that pieces of an accidentally broken wheel will be deflected away from the operator:     a. At the north casting line, there was a 7 inch portable DeWalt grinder that was used to remove slag and weld splatter that did not have a guard installed around its abrasive wheel, thereby exposing the employees to laceration hazards.      b. Located on the south casting line, there was a 4-1/2 inch portable DeWalt grinder that was used to remove slag and weld splatter at the Taylor Winfield Butt Welder that did not have a guard installed around its cutting wheel, thereby exposing the employees to laceration hazards.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,500 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.253(b)(2)(ii):     Inside of buildings, cylinders shall be stored in a well-protected, well-ventilated, dry location, at least 20 (6.1 m) feet from highly combustible materials such as oil or excelsior. Cylinders should be stored in definitely assigned places away from elevators, stairs, or gangways. Assigned storage spaces shall be located where cylinders will not be knocked over or damaged by passing or falling objects, or subject to tampering by unauthorized persons. Cylinders shall not be kept in unventilated enclosures such as lockers and cupboards:    a. Located in the old maintenance department, an acetylene compressed cylinder, which was used for welding/cutting operations, was not secured, thereby exposing the employees to a projectile hazard if the cylinder was knocked over.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $5,500 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.253(b)(4)(iii):     Oxygen cylinders in storage shall be separated from fuel-gas cylinders or combustible materials (especially oil or grease), a minimum distance of 20 feet (6.1 m) or by a noncombustible barrier at least 5 feet (1.5 m) high having a fire-resistance rating of at least one-half hour:    a. Located adjacent to the casting department, there were several oxygen cylinders that were stored directly next to acetylene bottles without any noncombustible barrier, thereby exposing the employees to an explosion hazard if a fire would occur.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.303(b)(1)(iv):     Examination.  Electric equipment shall be free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.  Safety of equipment shall be determined using the following considerations:      Electrical insulation:    a. Located behind the bell annehler in the casting department, there was 480 volt electrical cord that was used in part to supply electrical power to the upper heating element of a bell annehler that had approximately one foot of its jacket removed, thereby exposing the employees to electrical shock hazards.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $6,600 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.306(b)(1)(i):     A disconnecting means shall be provided between the runway contact conductors and the power supply.  Such disconnecting means shall consist of a motor-circuit switch, circuit breaker, or molded case switch.  The disconnecting means shall open all ungrounded conductors simultaneously and shall be:    Readily accessible and operable from the ground or floor level;    a. Located at the 5 ton crane dock rail disconnect near the furnace repair station, there were two disconnects that were not readily accessible by employees due to large crates and boxes stored in front of the disconnects, thereby exposing the employees to additional hazards such as electrical shock if an incident were to occur with an overhead crane.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $38,500 · Current $43,500

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1):     Types of guarding. One or more methods of machine guarding shall be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and sparks. Examples of guarding methods are-barrier guards, two-hand tripping devices, electronic safety devices, etc:    a. Located on the south casting line, there was a Horsburgh & Scott pull roller that pulled the coil material through the casting line that did not have any guarding, thereby exposing the employees to the ingoing nip point of the pull roller.        b. Located on the south casting line, there was a turnstile-type recoiler, Model #4RDM - 18 (S/N C24547) that was used to coil and rotate coil material that did not have any means of protection to prevent the employees from a struck-by or caught-between hazard from the rotating assembly's feeder arms.      c. Located on the south casting line, there was a turnstile-type recoiler, Model #4RDM - 18 (S/N C24547) that was used to coil and rotate coil material that did not have any means of protection where the coil material started its radius, thereby exposing the employees to the ingoing nip point of the recoiler's coil material.      d. Located on the north casting line, there was a turnstile recoiler that was used to coil material that did not have any means of protection where the coil material started its radius, thereby exposing the employees to the ingoing nip point of the recoiler's coil material.      e. Located on the north casting line, there was a turnstile-type uncoiler that unwound coil material that did not have any means of protection to prevent the employees from a stuck-by or caught-between hazard from the mandrel's rotating arms.       f. Located on the south casting line, there was an turnstile uncoiler that unwound coil material that did not have any means of protection to prevent the employees from a struck-by or caught-between hazard from the pneumatic hold down arms.      g. Located on the south casting line, there was a PG sander that had guarding installed, but the guarding did not prevent the employees from being exposed to its roller, thereby exposing the employees to the ingoing nip point of the sander's roller.      h. Located between the south casting line etching unit exit and the muffle furnace entrance, there were two v-guide rollers on each side of the coil material that did not have any guarding installed to prevent the employees from the amputation hazard of the ingoing nip point.      i. Located on the south casting line chute exit, there were two v-guide rollers that had guarding installed, but the guarding did not prevent employee exposure from the ingoing nip points from the coil material going through the v-guide rollers.      j. Located on the south casting line flattening roll entrance, there were two v-guide rollers that had guarding installed, but the guarding did not prevent the employees from the ingoing nip points from the coil material going through the v-guide rollers.        k. Located on the south casting line rough mill unit entrance, there were four v-guide rollers that had guarding installed, but the guarding did not prevent employee exposure from the ingoing nip points from the coil material going through the v-guide rollers.      l. Located on the south casting line rough mill unit exit, there were four v-guide rollers that had guarding installed, but the guarding did not prevent employee exposure from the ingoing nip points from the coil material going through the v-guide rollers.        m. Located on the end of the south casting line, there was a roller that was used to guide coil material from the vertical position to the horizontal position to start the casting line.  The roller did not have any guarding to protect the employees from where the coil material came in contact with the roller, thereby exposing the employees to an in going nip point.      Mahle Engine Components USA, Inc. was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard 1910.212(a)(1), which was contained in OSHA inspection number 314590118, citation number 1, item number 2 and was affirmed as a final order on February 2, 2011, with respect to a workplace located at 5130 North State Route 60, NW McConnelsville, Ohio 43756.

Issued

Mar 4, 2013

Abate by

Dec 31, 2014

Penalty

Initial $27,500 · Current $7,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.304(g)(5):     Grounding path. The path to ground from circuits, equipment, and enclosures shall be permanent, continuous, and effective:    a. Located at the South casting line, there was a 7 inch Dewalt grinder that was used to remove welds and weld splatter from where the coil material was butt welded.  The grinder that was used had its grounding pin removed from its plug, thereby exposing the employees to electrical shock hazards.      b. Located at the North casting line, there was a 7 inch Dewalt grinder that was used to remove welds and weld splatter from where the coil material was butt welded.  The grinder that was used had its grounding pin removed from its plug, thereby exposing the employees to electrical shock hazards.     Mahle Engine Components USA, Inc. was previously cited for a violation of this occupational safety and health standard or its equivalent standard 1910.304(f)(4), which was contained in OSHA inspection number 312884463, citation number 1, item number 7 and was affirmed as a final order on March 20, 2009, with respect to a workplace located at 14161 Manchester Road, Manchester, MO 63011.