Employer Cited for Exposing Workers to Amputation and Electric Shock Hazards
Good Old Days Foods Inc., a Little Rock, Ark., company, has been fined $47,600.
OSHA has cited Good Old Days Foods Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., for exposing service and maintenance machine workers to amputation and electric shock hazards due to a lack of machine guarding and lockout/tagout procedures, according to the agency. Two repeat violations were cited for worker exposure to housekeeping hazards, including ice accumulation on a freezer ceiling and floor holes on an expanded metal platform.
Nine serious violations were cited for worker exposure to possible amputation hazards for failure to guard rotating machinery parts and implement lockout/tagout procedures to protect workers who service or maintain machines. The company also exposed workers to electric shock hazards as they worked on machines with exposed wiring.
"Moving machine parts have the potential to cause severe workplace injuries, such as amputation, burns and crushing. Any machine part, function or process that may cause injury must be safeguarded to protect workers," said Carlos Reynolds, OSHA's area director in Little Rock. "Unguarded machines have the potential to seriously injure or kill a worker."