OSHA Inspection: CUSTOM STEEL, INC.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $2838 · Current $1418 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.106(e)(2)(ii): Flammable liquids shall be stored in tanks or closed containers:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; five gallon buckets of lacquer thinner, which was located adjacent to the spray booth and used for cleaning spray painting equipment, were not stored closed.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.107(b)(9): Spray booths shall be so installed that all portions are readily accessible for cleaning. A clear space of not less than 3 feet on all sides shall be kept free from storage or combustible construction:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not install or maintain a clear space of at least 3 feet on all sides of the spray booth in the Middle Shop building. At the northeast corner of the spray booth, empty paint buckets, and a ladder were stored along the side of the spray booth. A decommissioned air filter system remained immediately adjacent to the spray booth. These items did not allow for a clear space of 3 feet along the north side of the spray booth.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-11-02

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.107(e)(2): The quantity of flammable liquids or liquids with a flashpoint greater than 199.4 °F (93 °C) kept in the vicinity of spraying operations shall be the minimum required for operations and should ordinarily not exceed a supply for 1 day or one shift. Bulk storage of portable containers of flammable liquids or liquids with a flashpoint greater than 199.4 °F (93 °C) shall be in a separate, constructed building detached from other important buildings or cut off in a standard manner:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer kept a 55-gallon drum of Category 3 flammable primer paint. The 55-gallon drum's contents exceeded the supply of paint primer necessary for use in one day or in one shift. The primer paint was used frequently but not daily.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.107(g)(2): All spraying areas shall be kept as free from the accumulation of deposits of combustible residues as practical, with cleaning conducted daily if necessary. Scrapers, spuds, or other such tools used for cleaning purposes shall be of nonsparking material:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; surfaces of the spray booth were not kept as free as practical from accumulations of deposits of combustible residues. The south interior wall of the spray booth, the interior surface of the south service door, and the exterior southeast corner of the booth, including a garage door switch and crane pendant control, contained significant accumulations of overspray residues.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $2838 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(c)(1): In any workplace where respirators are necessary to protect the health of the employee or whenever respirators are required by the employer, the employer shall establish and implement a written respiratory protection program with worksite-specific procedures. The program shall be updated as necessary to reflect those changes in workplace conditions that affect respirator use. The employer shall include in the program the provisions of  this section, as applicable:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer's written program did not include worksite-specific procedures including but not limited to:  a) Procedures for proper use of respirators, b) Procedures and schedules for cleaning, disinfecting, storing, inspecting, repairing, discarding, and otherwise maintaining respirators, c) Procedures to ensure adequate air quality, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmosphere-supplying respirators, d) Procedures for regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the program

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(d)(3)(iii)(B)(2): For air purifying respirators for protection against gasses and vapors, if there is no end-of-service-life-indicator (ESLI) appropriate for conditions in the employer's workplace, the employer implements a change schedule for canisters and cartridges that is based on objective information or data that will ensure that canisters and cartridges are changed before the end of their service life. The employer shall describe in the respirator program the information and data relied upon and the basis for the canister and cartridge change schedule and the basis for reliance on the data:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not develop or implement a change schedule when employees utilized half-face respirators with organic vapor filter cartridges during spray painting operations. The 3M 6001 organic vapor air cartridges were not provided with ESLI.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-07-02

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $1419

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(e)(1): The employer shall provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee is fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace. The employer may discontinue an employee's medical evaluations when the employee is no longer required to use a respirator:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not provide medical evaluations to determine if employees were able to use tight-fitting half-face respirators  when employees were given Miller respirators (LPR-100) for voluntary use during welding operations.

Issued

2026-05-12

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(i)(7): For oil-lubricated compressors, the employer shall use a high-temperature or carbon monoxide alarm, or both, to monitor carbon monoxide levels. If only high-temperature alarms are used, the air supply shall be monitored at intervals sufficient to prevent carbon monoxide in the breathing air from exceeding 10 ppm:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; breathing air supplied to the blasting helmet respirator for abrasive blasting operations was not monitored to prevent carbon monoxide in the breathing air, which was supplied by an oil-lubricated Midwest Industrial Rotary Screw air Compressor (MAC-120DVS). The inline carbon monoxide meter had been sent for calibration and was gone since the week prior.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(h)(3)(ii)(A):  The employer shall ensure that respirator inspections include a check of respirator function, tightness of connections, and the condition of the various parts including, but not limited to, the facepiece, head straps, valves, connecting tube, and cartridges, canisters or filters:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not ensure that respirator inspections included a check of conditions of the various parts including the respirator's facepiece and head straps.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $2270 · Current $1135 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.244(b): The blast cleaning nozzles shall be equipped with an operating valve which must be held open manually. A support shall be provided on which the nozzle may be mounted when it is not in use:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the blast cleaning nozzle's manually held open valve had been bypassed with a rubber band, which would not allow the valve to default to closed if release or dropped.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-12-31

Penalty

Initial $2270 · Current $1135 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1026(d)(1): Each employer who has a workplace or work operation covered by this section shall determine the 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) exposure for each employee exposed to chromium (VI). This determination shall be made in accordance with either paragraph (d)(2) or paragraph (d)(3) of this section:  At an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not determine employees 8-hour TWA exposure to chromium (VI) while plasma cutting sheets of stainless steel on the downdraft AKS plasma cutting table (Model P0821).

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-12-31

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1026(l)(1)(ii): Communication of chromium (VI) hazards to employees -In classifying the hazards of chromium (VI) at least the following hazards are to be addressed: Cancer, eye irritation, and skin sensitization:  At an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not address cancer, eye irritation, and skin sensitization when communicating hazards of chromium (VI) to employees who plasma cut stainless steel.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $2838 · Current $1419 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1200(e)(1): Employers shall develop, implement, and maintain at each workplace, a written hazard communication program which at least describes how the criteria specified in paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) of this section for labels and other forms of warning, safety data sheets, and employee information and training will be met:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not develop or implement a written hazard communication program which at least described how the criteria specified in paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) would be met when employees worked with hazardous chemicals such as but not limited to flammable paints/solvents, welding fume, compressed gases, abrasive blast media, and cutting fluid.  All provisions of 29 CFR 1910.1200(e) through (h) must be covered in a written Hazard Communication program. Key elements include, but are not limited to the following:  1) List of hazardous chemicals 2) Collection of SDS 3) Container labeling 4) Employee information and training

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1200(h)(1): Employers shall provide employees with effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment, and whenever a new chemical hazard the employees have not previously been trained about is introduced into their work area. Information and training may be designed to cover categories of hazards (e.g., flammability, carcinogenicity) or specific chemicals. Chemical-specific information must always be available through labels and safety data sheets:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not provide employees with information and training on the hazards of the chemical in their work areas when employees were working with hazardous chemical such as but not limited to flammable paints/solvents, welding fume, compressed gases, abrasive blast media, and cutting fluid.  All provisions of 29 CFR 1910.1200(h)(1) through (h)(3) shall be provided to employees as hazard communication information and training. Key provisions include but are not limited to the following: 1) The requirements of this section.  2) Any operations in their work area where hazardous chemicals are present. 3) The location and availability of the written hazard communication program, list(s) of hazardous chemicals, and safety data sheets. 4) How employees could detect hazardous chemicals in the work areas.  5) The physical hazards, health hazards, asphyxiants, combustible dust and other hazards of the chemicals in their work areas.  6) The measures employees could take to protect themselves from hazardous chemicals through procedures and/or personal protective equipment (PPE). 7) The details of a hazard communication program including descriptions of labeling on containers and safety data sheets (SDS).

Issued

2026-05-12

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.132(d)(2): The employer shall verify that the required workplace hazard assessment has been performed through a written certification that identifies the workplace evaluated; the person certifying that the evaluation has been performed; the date(s) of the hazard assessment; and, which identifies the document as a certification of hazard assessment:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not verify through a written certification, that a workplace hazard assessment for the use of personal protective equipment, had been performed.

Issued

2026-05-12

Abate by

2026-06-10

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(i)(5)(iv): The employer shall ensure that compressors used to supply breathing air to respirators are constructed and situated so as to have a tag containing the most recent change date and the signature of the person authorized by the employer to perform the change. The tag shall be maintained at the compressor:  On or about March 25, 2026, at an establishment located at 318 Ross Avenue in Schofield, Wisconsin; the employer did not ensure that compressed air used to supply breathing air to the Sand Blaster's abrasive blasting helmet respirator contained a tag with the most recent change date and signature of the authorized person who changed the breathing air filter media.