In our industry there are a wide
variety of machinery that are operated by individual workers. Without proper machine
guarding the machinery operators would be at risk for injury or death. The Aluminium
Plant Safety Blog has a recent story emphasizing the need for continued education
on machinery guarding. Here is the story.
A worker
at an aluminium extrusion company in North America was killed when he was
crushed in an aluminum press he was operating one evening during the week of
August 3rd, 2014.
The president
of the aluminium extrusion company, said in an email, “Our thoughts and prayers
are with the family.” He said he could not comment further.
The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting an investigation
into the accident to determine whether the aluminium extrusion company was
following all safety procedures, said OSHA spokesman.
Two
investigators are interviewing potential witnesses and talking to employees and
company officials regarding safety measures in place at the time of the
incident, OSHA spokesman said.
OSHA spokesman
noted that OSHA has conducted previous investigations at the aluminium
extrusion company. Two times over the past 8 years the company was cited for
machine-guard violations, OSHA spokesman said.
The worker
was transported to a local hospital by ambulance.
The local County Coroner’s Office is conducting an investigation, but no
information was available the following afternoon, a spokesperson said.
The
aluminium extrusion company produces aluminum extrusions in various standard
shapes and custom designs in several grades of aluminum alloys and tempers,
according to its website.
Here’s another media story
of this incident.
The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration says a local company that was the
scene of an apparent accident that claimed the life of an employee has been
cited for safety violations in the past. A worker died one evening during the week
August 3rd, 2014 following an incident at an aluminium
extrusion company.
Dispatchers were told that a man who
sustained a head injury from a piece of machinery was not moving.
The victim was transported to a local
hospital. OSHA had two investigators questioning potential witnesses and
company managers Wednesday morning.
OSHA spokesperson tells the news media that
the aluminum extrusion company was cited twice over the past 8 years for having
inadequate protection on machinery, and for
failing to have a guard on machinery.
The aluminium extrusion company Human
Resources Manager said that their thoughts and prayers go out to the family of
the victim. The aluminium extrusion company Human Resources Manager also said
that the company is cooperating fully with the OSHA investigation into the
accident.
The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog
offers our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and
coworkers. The APSB hopes that counseling is offered to the family and
coworkers while they deal with the pain of loss that overtime may decrease but
will never go away.
Our industry is not unlike other
industries that are made up with new and older plants. The new plants have the
latest equipment with current safety precautions. Unfortunately, the older plants
have equipment which in some cases their safety mechanisms have not been
upgraded to the current standards. It is recommended that no matter the age of
your machinery that the appropriate guarding be installed to protect the
operator(s).
The Occupational Safety & Health
Administration has some useful information about machinery guarding (here).
The Health & Safety Executive
has an interesting article on inadequate safety guards on machinery, which can be found here.
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Please comment.
7 comments:
Terrible story. My condolences to the family. I hope this reaches everyone and reminds us to remain safe and alert.
What happened in the story is said it was not a moving part that caused the injury. We must all be alert and cautious.
Thank you for the comments, the APSB believes it was a moving part that caused the worker's death. Nevertheless you make a great point about being alert and cautious.
Terrible story and a lesson to all
But why do you not mention the plant by name??
Thank you for commenting. The APSB decided at the beginning not to mention company name nor location when there is an injury or a fatality.
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