An Ohio pipe manufacturer was cited by OSHA following the severe injury of an employee who got caught in a conveyor’s pinch point.
The incident occurred in December 2023 as the employee, who was working as a tube handler, was caught in the conveyor’s pinch point. The pinch point was created by a bundle of steel tubes and the rotating rollers of the conveyor.
Inspectors responded to the employer-reported injury and found several repeat violations related to the conveyor, which wasn’t adequately guarded.
OSHA has cited the company’s U.S. subsidiaries for 80 violations since 2014 and investigated seven work-related deaths at facilities in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In 2020, the company sold its U.S. holdings to Cleveland-Cliffs, an automotive-grade steel supplier. However, it still operates two manufacturing facilities in Ohio.
Fine: $253,515
Company: ArcelorMittal Tubular Products USA LLC,
Business: Iron and steel pipe and tube manufacturing from purchased steel
Reasons for fine:
Four repeat violations for failing to:
- ensure that energy control procedures clearly outlined specific steps for isolating energy sources
- provide adequate training to ensure employees understood the energy control program
- ensure that energy control procedures were followed in the correct sequence
- provide one or more methods of machine guarding to protect employees from points of operation and ingoing nip points
