Just six weeks after a machine amputated a maintenance worker’s left hand as he cleared jammed material stuck in a machine at an Illinois bread products facility, the company reported that a second worker’s right forearm suffered multiple fractures as he cleaned another machine. OSHA inspectors investigating the injuries found, in both instances, the company allowed employees to service machinery without isolating operating parts.
 |
OSHA has proposed penalties of $86,942 for one repeated and two serious violations to the employer, a leading global food products company.
“The tragic loss of one employee’s hand failed to serve as a catalyst for [the company] to re-evaluate its machine safety procedures. Subsequently, the lack of such procedures caused a second worker to suffer severe injuries,” said Angeline Loftus, OSHA’s area director for its Chicago North Area Office in Des Plaines. “The injuries suffered by these employees could have been prevented if their employer had followed required safety procedures to isolate energy to machines before allowing workers to service them.”
Read more.