Dallas-Area Steel Fabricator Fined $189K for Workplace Hazards

Federal safety officials have found that a Dallas-area steel fabricator has continued to put its workers in harm’s way, despite its awareness of hazards at its Farmers Branch facility. A recent federal inspection that found more than a dozen safety violations, authorities said.

Steel Fabrication Services Inc. now faces proposed penalties totaling $188,760.

U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors cited Steel Fabrication Services for two willful, six repeated and six serious violations in a follow-up inspection. They found the company continued to expose workers to unguarded machinery, improperly stored oxygen cylinders and other safety and health hazards.

Begun in January, the inspection was a follow-up visit for citations issued in February 2014. At that time, OSHA identified five serious violations involving the lack of protective guards for dangerous machines, unsafe storage of compressed gas cylinders and electrical hazards.

Steel Fabrication did not respond to the citations and failed to provide OSHA with documentation that the problems had been addressed, as required by law, regulators said.

Based in the Dallas Metroplex, Steel Fabrication manufactures fabricated parts, weldments and finished products in carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum and other materials. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: OSHA

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