OSHA Cites Ventra Belvidere for Exposing Employees to Dangerous Machines

The citations come after a 21-year-old worker was fatally crushed at an auto parts supply plant.

A 21-year-old machine operator was fatally crushed at Ventra Belvidere LLC while reaching into a machine to align parts made for Chrysler vehicles, according to OSHA, which has followed its investigation into the incident on June 10, 2014, by citing citing the employer for one willful and four serious safety violations for exposing workers to dangerous machinery and other hazards.

"This tragic death was preventable if Ventra Belvidere ensured proper machine guarding," said Jacob Scott, OSHA's area director in Aurora. "Failure to protect employees from dangerous machinery often leads to catastrophic injury or death. These violations are among the most frequently cited by OSHA."

The investigation found that the sensing device to detect the presence of someone was in the machine was improperly set, which allowed the device to cycle while the employee reached into the machine. OSHA issued a willful violation for failure to guard a sequencing machine properly. OSHA also cited Ventra Belvidere for four serious violations for failure to guard other machines properly, conduct periodic evaluations of lockout/tagout procedures, and to train workers on the procedures.

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