Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: HEAT

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to: On August 30, 2002 employees were exposed to serious injuries while standing in a staging /stacking area for coils awaiting placement on coil conveyor located at the pickle line area, Unraveling of the steel coils occurred due to insufficient banding of the steel coils and improper employee positioning during such material handling. Among other methods, the following are feasible and acceptable methods to minimize the probability of injury during the handling and staging of steel coils. 1. Develop safe banding procedures which list the sequence of operations, particularly during stacking/staging of coils prior to placement on the coil conveyor for pickling processing. 2. Train all effected employees on the requirements set forth in the procedures and safety precautions, including the importance of properly positioning one's self in relation to the coils, particularly when the coils are stacked/stage awaiting placement on coil conveyor for processing. 3. Enforce employee use of the procedures. 4. Follow ANSI B11.18-1992 recommendations for the proper banding as included but not limited in the following: a. Banding material should be a minimum of 1 and 1/4 inch wide by .031 inch thick, heat treated. b. All banding seals should be doubled crimped. c. Corner protectors should be used on all bands placed through the eye of the coil. They should be sufficient enough to protect against rupture of the band due to the sharp edges of the material or too acute of a bend. d. A minimum of 3 bands (equally Spaced) should be placed through the eye of the coil. e. Bands should be placed on the circumference to the coil as appropriate for the size, gage, and grade of metal. 5. Develop and implement safe placement procedures for banded coils in order to prevent damage and/or corrosion to the banding clips. 6. Develop and implement safe stacking procedures for banded coils in order to prevent undue stresses on the bands of the bottom coils.