FedEx Ground Packaging System Inc. Cited for Machine Guarding Hazard
OSHA has previously cited the company in 2010 and 2011 for similar hazards at facilities in Grove City, Ohio, and Syracuse, N.Y.
According to a news release from OSHA, FedEx Ground Packaging System Inc. failed to guard a conveyor belt properly at its Wilmington shipping distribution center and exposed its employees to potential injuries. OSHA has previously cited the company in 2010 and 2011 for similar hazards at facilities in Grove City, Ohio, and Syracuse, N.Y.
OSHA's Andover Area Office personnel determined that the belt conveyor system's rotating parts were insufficiently guarded on the periphery to prevent employees' fingers and hands from getting caught. This could result in pinched or crushed fingers and hands, concussion, abrasions, or nerve damage.
"A basic safety concern went unmet here even though this employer has twice been cited for similar hazards in the past four years," said Jeffrey Erskine, OSHA's acting deputy regional administrator for New England. "It is critical for workers' safety and health that an employer with multiple facilities, such as this, ensures that required safeguards are in place and maintained effectively at all times in all locations."