Alliance Tubular Products again ignores violations and exposes workers to dangerous machinery and risk of serious injury

ALLIANCE, Ohio — Twice in a year, Alliance Tubular Products LLC has put workers at risk of amputation and other serious injury by allowing dangerous machinery to operate unsafely. A July 2014 inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found three repeated and four serious violations, with fines of $139,800 at the high-end industrial steel tubing manufacturer's location in Alliance. The company was also placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program for its failure to address safety violations.

"Alliance Tubular was well aware of the dangers these machines posed to workers and failed to implement the proper protective procedures," said Brigitte Frank, OSHA's acting area director in Cleveland. "Each year, thousands of workers are injured by dangerous machinery. These types of violations are among the most frequently cited by OSHA and often result in death or permanent disability."

OSHA issued three repeated citations after the agency found workers were exposed to operating machinery parts on weld mills and other industrial machines at the plant because safety mechanisms were not properly installed.

OSHA cited similar violations at the company's facility in Darlington, Pennsylvania, in 2014 and at the Alliance facility in 2012. OSHA issues repeated violations if an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

Inspectors also noted four serious violations at Alliance Tubular that involved lack of procedures to prevent unintentional operation of machinery during maintenance and the use of railings that were not rated for the platforms on which they were installed. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.

View the current citations at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/AllianceTubularProducts_994442_0129_15.pdf.

Alliance Tubular is a subsidiary of PTC Alliance Corp., headquartered in Wexford, Pennsylvania. PTC Alliance Corp. employs 2,100 workers companywide, with 247 at the Alliance facility.

The company 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 before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Cleveland Area Office at 216-447-4194.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.