He walked into the grain storage bin on his own two feet, but left in an ambulance. A 35-year-old employee of the Beattie Farmers Union Cooperative had to have all the toes on his left foot amputated after his foot became entangled in an auger that was inadvertently turned on while he was cleaning out a bin.
Once again, OSHA has found workers at Basic Marine, Inc. in Escanaba, Michigan exposed to dangerous amputation hazards while operating press brakes because safety mechanisms were not in place. The machines cut large metal pieces weighing up to 450 tons.
Employees at Formed Fiber Technologies LLC's Auburn manufacturing plant use a variety of machines, including robots, to make polyester carpets and thermoformed trunk liners for the automotive industry. An inspection by OSHA, begun in September 2014, has found these workers at risk of injuries because their employer did not ensure proper safeguards on the machines they operate.
One of OSHA’s Site Specific Targeted inspections has resulted in 17 serious safety violations against a Fort Worth, Texas plumbing and heating company. OSHA cited PVI Industries LLC for 17 serious safety violations that include failure to:
Year after year, citations for Lockout/Tagout (LO/TO) failure continue to make the top ten list of OSHA violations. While overall citations decreased in 2014, failure to LO/TO showed the least improvement, arriving in sixth place.
OSHA cites Burrows Paper for the fourth time in a year
February 12, 2015
Mere months after two employees were injured by dangerous machines, Burrows Paper Corp. again put workers at risk. Acting on a complaint, OSHA found workers unjamming and servicing machines without proper safeguards during an Aug. 25, 2014, inspection.
OSHA has fined Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. approximately $1.76M after finding that the company has had more than 1,000 worker injuries in past three years, including more than 100 amputations (PDF*) from woodworking machinery.
After a Graphic Packaging International Inc. employee suffered a severe injury in June 2014 when the worker's hand was caught in a moving printing press, OSHA cited the West Monroe, Louisiana company for 28 safety violations. Proposed penalties total $129,000.
In response to a report of an electrical shock injury, OSHA found that a 20-year employee was injured while he performed service work on an electrical panel at a Coldwater rice-cake manufacturer. Following the investigation, OSHA has cited Basic Grain Products Inc. for two repeated and five serious safety violations.
A 44-year-old machine operator suffered severe injuries when a part of his face was caught in a power press he operated at Parker Hannifin Corp.'s Lewisburg, Ohio, plant. Following an investigation, OSHA issued one repeat citation and two serious safety violations for exposing the worker to machinery operating parts with inadequate safeguards.