Three workers suffered amputation injuries within four months at a Columbiana, Ohio envelope printing facility because their employer failed to protect them from moving machine parts on 26 of the 27 company production lines, a federal inspection found.
Following a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection, the agency cited Envelope 1 on Dec. 15 for three willful and four serious violations. Proposed penalties total $88,200.
“When repeated amputation injuries occur at a business, safety is not a priority,” said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland. “After OSHA initiated its first inspection involving an amputation in June 2015, Envelope 1 failed to take immediate steps to protect workers. If they had, it may have prevented other injuries.”
OSHA’s investigation found the following:
- On June 19, 2015, a machine operator had a finger amputated when it caught in a pinch point of printing section rollers as he wiped a roller. The 52-year-old employee had been employed at the plant for six months.
- On Sept. 16, 2015, a 29-year-old employee suffered partial amputation of his left finger as he cleared material from a scoring section of an envelope line. The operator’s hands were exposed to operating parts because the machine lacked adequate safety guards.
- On Sept. 28, 2015, a 73-year-old worker had part of this thumb amputated as he adjusted rollers during the setup of an envelope printing section.
Envelope 1 was given 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director in Columbus, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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