Two manufacturing companies were recently cited by OSHA in unrelated incidents for failing to prevent hazards that resulted in two workers losing fingers.

OSHA cited Industrial Packaging Corporation for nine safety violations and proposed $118,000 in penalties after a 23-year-old worker suffered the amputation of three fingertips while attempting to clear a jam from a machine at the corrugated cardboard manufacturer's facility in Arcadia, Wis. Inspectors determined that the injury could have been prevented if the company had trained workers in proper safety procedures to prevent the the machine's chopping blade from operating during servicing.

In a similar case, OSHA cited Custom Aluminum Products in South Elgin, Ill., for two safety violations and proposed $70,000 in penalties after a 21-year-old temporary worker lost six fingers when his hands became caught in an aluminum press. Inspectors found that the incident could have been prevented if the employer had installed proper safety guards to keep the operator's hands out of the metal press' danger zone.

"It's hard to imagine the agony and pain this young man suffered when six of his fingers were amputated," said Jake Scott, OSHA's area director in Aurora. "His life is now forever altered because the press lacked required safe guarding devices."