OSHA Inspection: EXIDE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Issued

Apr 28, 2020

Abate by

Jun 1, 2020

Penalty

Initial $10,814 · Current $10,814

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(6)(i): The employer did not conduct a periodic inspection of the energy control procedures at least annually to ensure that the procedures and the requirement of this standard were being followed:  (a) Exide Technologies, 3000 Montrose Avenue, Reading, Pennsylvania - The employer did not conduct a periodic inspection of lockout/tagout procedures, in accordance with the standard, in that the employer did not conduct an inspection annually for each procedure used within the year and where the employer required authorized employees to use lockout for energy control, did not include a review between the inspector and each authorized employee of that employee's responsibilities under the energy control procedure inspected, exposing employees to hazards, including, but not limited to getting caught-in or struck-by moving machine parts, on or about December 9, 2019.  Abatement certification required within 10 days after abatement date. The certification shall include a statement that abatement is complete, date and method of abatement, and state employees and their representatives were informed of this abatement.

Issued

Apr 28, 2020

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.147(d): The established procedures for the application of energy control (the lockout or tagout procedures) were not done in sequence as required by 29 CFR 1910.147(d)(1) through (6):  (a) Plastics Building - To check for and clear blockages, plastics operators removed one or both 90-degree pipe elbows from the body vents on the side of the airlock for hot air pellet dryer #1, which exposed the airlock's rotary blades.  Prior to removing the 90-degree pipe elbows, the employees did not turn off the airlock [per 1910.147(d)(2) requirements].  As a result, the remaining applicable energy control elements, involving machine isolation [(d)(3)], lockout/tagout device application [(d)(4)], dissipation of residual energy [(d)(5)(i)], and verification of isolation [(d)(6)] did not get implemented to protect the employee from equipment servicing hazards, such as caught-in or struck-by.  On or about December 9, 2019, a plastics operator removed a 90-degree elbow and stuck his finger into a body vent to clear an apparent piece of debris, and a rotary blade caught the employee's glove, resulting in an amputation injury to a fingertip.  No abatement certification or documentation required.