Safety Failures Allowed Machine to Sever Worker's Fingertips: OSHA

The incident happened at a Nature's Path subsidiary in Wisconsin.

  • May 20, 2016

OSHA has cited a subsidiary of Nature's Path Foods Inc. after an investigation at a Sussex, Wis., facility determined an accident could have been prevented if the machine had been powered down fully. On May 17, OSHA cited the cereal manufacturer facility for two repeated, 14 serious, and one other-than-serious safety violations after its investigation into the Nov. 24, 2015, injury. The agency has proposed $118,320 in penalties.

A rotating airlock blade severed three of the worker's fingertips as he cleaned the machine, according to the report.

"Training workers to isolate energy, as required by OSHA standards, would have prevented this young man's hands from coming in contact with the operating parts of the machine," said Christine Zortman, OSHA's area director in Milwaukee. "Employers are required to ensure equipment is properly guarded or locked out to prevent workers from getting into danger zones of equipment."

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