Metal fabrication is an invaluable contributor to most industries employing workers in Indiana and Illinois. The fabricating industry creates a variety of metal products, goods, or components used by our car makers, commercial and residential construction companies, steel mills, agri-business endeavors, and various manufacturing companies. Virtually every metal object used or sold in today’s marketplace is the product of the metal fabrication industry.
What is Metal Fabrication?
Workers in the metal fabricating industry build things from metal parts. They may assemble components into a larger part necessary for heavy machinery to function or into an end product ready for use or sale. Steel, aluminum, sheet metal, magnesium, or welding wire may be used by the fabricator in a metal fabrication process that can be industrial, structural, or commercial.
Fabrication can involve assembling, bending, casting, forging, forming, stamping, machining, or welding. Everything from simple hand tools to the latest in complex computerized technology (robotics) may be used by fabricators to complete the work.
Jobs in the local metal fabrication industry vary. This month, as an example, there are job openings in Indiana for metal fabricator work, including:
- MIG Welder
- Engineer
- Sheet Metal Fabricator
- Metal Fabricator
- Line Equipment Operator
- Welder
- Fitter
- Machine Operator
- Robotic Weld Technician
- Shop Carman (Railroad Car Fabrication and Repair)
- Fabrication Technician
- Electrical Fabrication Apprentice.
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”) comes the following definition:
Industries in the Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing subsector transform metal into intermediate or end products, other than machinery, computers and electronics, and metal furniture, or treat metals and metal formed products fabricated elsewhere. Important fabricated metal processes are forging, stamping, bending, forming, and machining, used to shape individual pieces of metal; and other processes, such as welding and assembling, used to join separate parts together. Establishments in this subsector may use one of these processes or a combination of these processes.
Risk of Worker Injury or Death in Metal Fabrication Machine Accidents
The tools of metal fabrication are dangerous. Fabricating machinery, such as drilling presses, pipe benders, milling machines, and lathes come with risks of bodily harm to anyone working on or near the machine while it is in operation or powered. Welding tools are notoriously dangerous, as well. For more on welder accident dangers, read Welder Accidents: The Deadly Dangers of Welding on Industrial Job Sites.
Different machines and tasks involve different risks. Machine guards are commonplace in metal fabrication, for example. Still, disregarding machine guarding safety regulations was one of the Top Ten OSHA Safety Regulation Violations last year. Read, 2021 OSHA Top Ten List of Violations Released: Workers No Safer from Known Injury Risks.
Workers in metal fabrication may suffer serious or deadly injuries in workplace accidents involving:
- Machine Guard failures
- Electrical
- Lockout Tagout
- Falls
- Ladders
- Scaffolds
- Heavy equipment.
Hazard Education for Workers – Chemical Injuries on Worksite
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) has a federal safety law requiring employers to educate their employees about all the dangers and risks they face from working in a place where dangerous chemicals are used or stored. This is called the “Hazard Communication Standard” and it demands that the employers investigate, research, understand, and then educate and train all their employees on the specific hazards that do exist or might arise in their particular metal fabricating jobsite. OSHA is clear that this standard provides workers not only with the legal right to know the dangers on their worksite, but also with the legal right to understand the hazards they are facing.
Hexavalent Chromium, for instance, is an infamous toxic chemical that is used as a part of fabrication involving welding stainless steel. To learn more, read OSHA Manual entitled “Hazard Classification Guidance for Manufacturers, Importers, and Employers.”
For further information on the risk of worker injury or death involving hazardous materials, dangerous goods, or toxic chemicals, read: Hazardous Materials on the Job: Ohio Train Derailment’s Warning to Workers in Indiana and Illinois; and Chemical Injuries on the Job: Continued Widespread Failure to Comply with Federal Safety Standard.
Loss of Hearing: Required Worker PPE and Site Monitoring
Workers can also suffer injury from the facility environment itself. Loss of hearing can happen with as little as 15 minutes of exposure to 100 decibels, and fabricating machinery is incredibly noisy. So much so that OSHA has a federal safety regulation requiring employers to provide hearing protection for workers exposed to 85 decibels or more during an 8-hour time-weighted workday. The employer is also required to monitor the worksite for noise levels and for variations in sound. See, 29 CFR §1910.95.
Ear muffs or earplugs should be used by metal fabricators who face a risk of injury due to noise. Canal caps also help to protect the worker from injury.
For more on personal protective equipment, see Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents.
Metal Fabrication Injuries and Claims for Justice
The failure of metal fabricator employers to provide proper personal protective equipment, as well as routinely monitoring the workplace; keeping up to date with the safety research on how to best keep workers safe on the job; and having an emergency accident plan in place in the event of an accident can mean that someone working in metal fabrication will suffer catastrophic or deadly injuries on the job.
Metal fabrication injuries can involve:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Nervous system trauma or permanent nerve damage
- Lung damage
- Brain injuries
- Loss of use of limb (arm, hand, etc.)
- Amputation
- Death
- Loss of hearing
- Disfigurement from burns.
For workers in Indiana or Illinois injured or killed in a metal fabrication accident, there are state and federal laws which may provide avenues for justice to both the worker victim and their loved ones. Workers’ compensation laws allow for benefits to be paid to the worker and family members, for instance. Investigation into the incident may also reveal third-party legal liability based on the laws of negligence, product liability, defective products, or premises liability that provide for additional damages to be paid that are distinct from workers’ compensation benefits.
For more, read:
- Traumatic Amputations in Industrial Accidents
- Chemical Accidents: Burns, Inhalation, or Neurological Work Injuries on the Job in Indiana or Illinois
- Head Injury in an Accident: Varied Causes of Permanent Brain Injuries
- Who Can Claim Damages After a Work Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- What are Legal Damages After a Work-Related Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents.
Metal fabrication is vital to the industries of Indiana and Illinois, and these workers face extreme dangers each day on the job. Sadly, all too often employers will put profits over people and disrespect the safety requirements of the workplace. Please be careful out there!
