TimkenSteel fined, placed in OSHA serious violator program for worker's death in December
CANTON – TimkenSteel has been placed in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's severe violator enforcement program and ordered to pay more than $315,000 in fines following the investigation of a fatal accident at the Gambrinus Steel Mill.
OSHA took the action after investigating the Dec. 27 incident that led to the death of Douglas Gauze, 65, of Canton, a machine operator in the Gambrinus facility.
According to OSHA, inspectors determined that Gauze suffered fatal crushing injuries because TimkenSteel failed to install guards and provide proper hand tools that would have protected workers from entanglement hazards while operating a bar straightening machine.
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It's the third time in five years that TimkenSteel has been cited for safety failures by OSHA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor.
OSHA issued the ruling on June 22. TimkenSteel has 15 business days to respond. The company is reviewing the citations and declined comment.
"The safety and well-being of our employees remains our highest priority," a spokeswoman wrote in an email, adding that the company "fully cooperated with OSHA throughout the course of its investigation."
Investigators for OSHA determined that Gauze was injured after being caught on a piece of steel bar rotating at a high speed.
The inspectors determined that TimkenSteel provided workers with hooks to manipulate the spinning steel bars, but they weren't long enough. A worker's hands would be in the machine's "danger zone" as the steel was being guided into the straightener, OSHA officials said.
While investigating, inspectors also learned that TimkenSteel had previously modified similar machines by adding a mechanical feed roll unit that eliminated the need for workers to touch the rotating steel. The company, however, canceled a plan to modify the machine involved in the fatal accident, OSHA said.
"A worker's life might have been spared if TimkenSteel safeguarded dangerous machinery as required by law," Howard Eberts, OSHA area director in Cleveland, said in a prepared statement. "This company identified the safety issue that exposed workers using this machine to serious hazards, but failed to make it safe."
OSHA issued two willful and two serious violations, and proposed penalties of $315,952. The violations are because of a lack of guarding on horizontal drive shafts and knuckles, as well as walking and working surfaces that exposed workers to slip and fall hazards from oil coolant leaks and spills.
Workers in the Gambrinus mill process steel bars before the product is shipped to customers. Canton-based TimkenSteel has 1,800 employees, with production at the Faircrest, Harrison and Gambrinus mills in Stark County.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: TimkenSteel fined, in OSHA serious violator program for worker's death
