TimkenSteel cited by OSHA again following workplace fatality

STARK COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) - The U.S. Department of Labor has cited Canton-based TimkenSteel following a fatal accident that took place last December.

According to USDOL, the 65-year-old worker was crushed to death in a machine at the Gambrinus Plant on Navarre Road, after being caught on a piece of bar stock rotating at high speed.

A report found the company failed to install guards, or provide proper hand tools to prevent workers from getting caught on the machine.

Timken had previously modified similar machinery, according to OSHA, however canceled a plan to modify the machine involved in the accident.

OSHA has cited TimkenSteel for safety failures three times in the past five years.           

The company has now been placed in OSHA’s severe violator enforcement program.

“A worker’s life might have been spared if TimkenSteel safeguarded dangerous machinery as required by law,” said OSHA Area Director Howard Eberts in Cleveland. “This company identified the safety issue that exposed workers using this machine to serious hazards but failed to make it safe.”

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.

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