OSHA Cites Connecticut Manufacturer for 48 Safety Violations After Fatality

After an employee of a Watertown, Connecticut metal fabrication company was electrocuted on July 14, 2021 while repairing a portable water heater, an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that his employer, PM Engineered Solutions Inc., lacked safeguards to protect employees against electrocution, as well as mechanical, chemical, fall and other electrical hazards.

OSHA has cited the company for 40 serious and eight other violations of workplace safety and health standards found during its inspection of the facility. PM Engineered Solutions now faces a total of $236,201 in proposed penalties.

OSHA inspectors determined that the company failed to develop procedures to lockout the water heater’s power source during maintenance or provide lockout training to the deceased employee. They also found the company failed to check energy control procedures periodically.

The purpose of lockout/tagout, also called hazardous energy control, is to prevent the unexpected startup or release of stored electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic or other energy sources in machines and equipment that can result in serious injury or death to workers.

“This employee lost his life due to the employer’s failure to implement required energy control procedures,” said OSHA Area Director Dale Varney in Hartford. “Of equal concern is the broad cross-section of hazards throughout the facility. Left uncorrected, they expose employees to being crushed, caught in moving machine parts, burned, chemical exposures, falling and being unable to exit the workplace promptly in the event of an emergency, such as a fire or explosion.”

OSHA identified additional hazards during its inspection of the plant, including inadequately guarded mechanical power presses, forges, hydraulic presses and grinding machinery; exposed live electrical parts, uncovered electrical boxes, flexible cords used in lieu of permanent wiring and material stored in front of electrical panels; open or unlabeled tanks and containers of hazardous chemicals and others. View the citations here and here.

PM Engineered Solutions has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.

Source: OSHA

Topics Workers' Compensation Connecticut Manufacturing