Follow-up OSHA inspection finds workplace safety problems persist at Georgia pipe fabricator; nearly $76K in fines proposed

Employer name: U.S. Pipe Fabrication LLC

Inspection site: 1101 Industrial Blvd., Gainesville, Georgia 30504

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to U.S. Pipe on June 6 for three repeated, three serious and one other-than-serious safety and health violations.

Investigation findings: OSHA opened the investigation as a follow-up to a previous inspection opened in April 2015. The agency initially inspected Custom Fab Inc. under its National Emphasis Program on Amputations; the company was later bought by U.S. Pipe.

The repeated citations relate to the employer:

• Not providing written energy-control procedures to ensure zero energy state during maintenance and servicing.
• Exposing workers to unguarded machine parts and equipment.
• Not tailoring the written respiratory program to the respirators used at the facility.

The serious citations relate to the employer:

• Not ensuring workers followed energy-control procedures to prevent unexpected machine start-ups during maintenance and servicing.
• Exposing workers to unguarded saw blades.
• Not instructing workers on the hazards of fighting fires.

The other-than-serious citation relates to the employer:

• Not recording a workplace injury on the required OSHA 300 log within seven days.

Proposed penalties: $75,960

Quote: “When workplace hazards are found, they must be corrected and not be allowed to reoccur,” said William Fulcher, OSHA’s area director in the Atlanta-East Office. The management of U.S. Pipe cannot wait for OSHA inspectors to identify hazards; they must be proactive in identifying and removing hazards.” 

The citations can be viewed at: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/legacy-files/newsroom/newsreleases/OSHA20161093.pdf

A fabricator in the waterworks industry, U.S. Pipe produces a range of metal pipes and fittings. The company employs approximately 23 workers at the Gainesville facility. The employer 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 independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.   

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, 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 Atlanta-East Area Office at 770-493-6644.

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.