Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 200758647 - Worker Maintaining Annealing Fan Is Crushed by Steel Coil
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
311832703 | 02/20/2008 | 3312 | 331111 | Ak Steel Corporation/Coshocton Works |
Abstract: At approximately 2:00 a.m. on February 20, 2008, Employee #1 was working for AK Steel Corporation in Coshocton, OH. He was retorqueing bolts on a fan that was part of a metal base that supported steel coils during an annealing process. Annealing is a process in which steel is heated and cooled under controlled conditions. This is done mainly to change the steel's physical properties so that the steel can be more easily formed or fabricated. The metal base was in a pit situated about 12 feet below the surrounding work floor. A coworker operating an overhead crane was using a camera with an in-cab monitor to aid in the positioning of the coils onto the metal heating base. The fan had been locked out. Employee #1 was positioned face down, lying across the base, when a coil of steel weighing 33,900 pounds being transported by the overhead crane was placed on top of him. He was killed. The employer did not enforce or utilize the established energy control procedures for locking out the "coil buildup" (CBU) overhead Virginia crane when employees were required to check the torque of the super nut bolts on the Hydrogen Bells base fan. The torqueing of the bolts was a process that was implemented about eight months prior to this accident in order to eliminate possible fan damage. As a part of the firm's health and safety program, the employer maintained what is referred to as General Safety Order 1 (GSO1). It was titled "Lock Out/ Try Out Program." It stated that prior to servicing, maintaining, repairing, inspecting, cleaning, etc., any equipment or machinery where there was a hazard present from any of the above described energy sources (stored energy, mechanical, electrical, radiation and fluid), workers were to follow a specified order of lockout procedures. Also, the employer did not ensure that crane operators did not carry loads over employees working in the coil buildup area. While employees were working in the area, overhead cranes could be unloading trains, taking coils from coil racks, or moving bell towers and bell coils. Also, trucks picked up the processed coils in order to weigh them. The changeout of bells on furnaces adjacent to operating stations was the source of much concern.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 311832703 | Fatality | Other | Mechanical controls and valve repairers |