Employer name: Sterling Technologies Inc., 10047 Keystone Drive, Lake City, PA
Citations issued: On Sept. 22, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued Sterling Technologies one general duty clause citation for exposing employees to heat stress conditions and one additional serious safety citation.
Investigation findings: OSHA found that during their 12-hour work shift, machine operators were exposed to excessive heat while working rotational molding ovens operating at 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, compressed gas cylinders were not secured.
Proposed penalties: $9,900
Quote: "Heat stress is not only an outdoor health hazard. Employees working indoors in elevated temperatures can also demonstrate the symptoms of heat-related illness," said Theresa A. Naim, OSHA's area director in Erie. "Heat stress can be reduced significantly by establishing an effective heat illness prevention program."
View the citations: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Sterling_Technologies_Inc_1079222_9_22_15.pdf
The employer's workers' compensation insurer is Resource Edge Inc., headquartered in Rockwall, Texas.
OSHA has a free app for mobile devices that enables workers and supervisors to monitor the heat index at their work sites. Additionally, a web page provides information and resources on heat illness-including how to prevent it and what to do in an emergency-for workers and employers.
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 Erie Office at 814-874-5150.
