One Safeguard Doesn’t Make it Safe Fatality Report

Safeguard Against Machine Hazards, Injuries with Employee Training

The first day on the job for a new employee ended tragically, when the 21-year-old man suffered severe burns and the loss of four fingers on his right hand as he tried to clear a jam in a plastic molding machine. The man had only been working for a few hours when the incident occurred. During their investigation, OSHA inspectors found that the company had failed to train the employee about safety requirements that protect workers from machine hazards.

As a result, OSHA cited his employer for two willful, two repeated and one other-than-serious violation. The company faced proposed penalties of $171,270 and was placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program following the investigation of the injury. The agency had cited the company previously for similar hazards at the same facility.

Even the most elaborate safeguarding system cannot offer effective protection, unless the worker knows how to use it and why.