Bancroft Bags Inc. in West Monroe, Louisiana has been cited for failing to guard machinery and implement appropriate shut down procedures, Bancroft was cited for 16 serious violations by OSHA.

An amputation alert

The agency initiated the April 2015 inspection after receiving notification from the employer that a printing press operator, who was trying to remove a gear from its shaft, had his hand pulled into the gears and his index finger amputated.

Proposed penalties: $84,000.

Ten fingers

"The cost of implementing safety procedures is so low, and the cost of ignoring them is so high. If Bancroft had implemented procedures to keep the press from starting up, this man would still have all 10 fingers. Instead he's suffered an injury that will affect him the rest of his life. This was a preventable injury and it's incumbent upon the employer to find and fix hazards that pose a threat to the safety and health of its workers," said Dorinda Folse, OSHA's area director in Baton Rouge.

Link to the citations: www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BancroftBagINC_1056608.pdf*

Bancroft Bags, a leading manufacturer of bags for pet food, fertilizers, and chemical product companies, employs about 400 workers at its West Monroe packaging plant.