A Oakmont-based company has been cited for several violations related to the death of an employee in September.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited and taken other enforcement action against Vorteq Coil Finishers for instructing an employee to clean a machine while it was operating, which resulted in his death.

Joseph Reyes, 46, of Butler, was pulled into a chrome roller he was cleaning on a coater machine on Sept. 5 and died of traumatic asphyxiation at the company’s Middlesex Township plant. Reyes was a supervisor at Vorteq, according to a news release from OSHA about the citations.

A federal investigation determined Vorteq could have prevented the mishap by following required safety standards, according to the department. The investigation began Sept. 6.

OSHA cited the company for two willful and two serious violations based, in part, on failing to implement lockout/tagout procedures and not installing machine guarding. The agency also proposed $345,685 in penalties, and placed the company in its severe violator enforcement program, which subjects the company to mandatory follow-up inspections.

“Vorteq Coil Finishers’ failure to value employee safety created conditions that cost a worker his life,” said Christopher Robinson, director of OSHA’s Pittsburgh office. “This incident, and the company’s history of similar incidents and serious injuries at this and other plants, emphasize the crucial need for a shift in company culture to make worker safety and health a core workplace principle. OSHA will continue to monitor and hold the company accountable until there are sufficient changes.

“All evidence gathered during the inspection revealed that management employees at the highest level of the plant knew how dangerous it was to clean this machine while it was operating but required employees to do so to minimize downtime and maximize production,” Robinson added.

Vorteq Coil Finishers LLC finishes steel and aluminum coils. The company has 15 business days to comply and submit payment or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.