"This death was preventable...."

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog hopes that by bringing awareness to these incidents that these incidents are not repeated. Many of the machinery that is used in one aluminium plant is similar if not identical to machinery used in other aluminium plants. In the summer of 2014 the APSB posted the incident below. This incident has sent shockwaves around our industry. Why? Because the deceased worker was killed performing a function that is done countless times during a work day. Recently a government safety organization placed a fine on the aluminium company in this incident. Here is the story:

A machine operator was fatally crushed while reaching into an extrusion press to remove unprocessed aluminum parts because his employer, failed to ensure the machine's power was fully off so that it would not turn on during maintenance, a procedure known as lockout/tagout. An investigation into the summer 2014, incident by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration resulted in citations for the Midwest United States aluminium facility for six serious safety violations for exposing workers to dangerous machinery and other hazards.

"This death was preventable, the aluminium company should have properly trained their workers on lockout/tagout and ensured the extrusion press had adequate guarding," said the local OSHA acting area director. "Failure to protect employees from dangerous machinery all too often leads to catastrophic injury or death. These violations are among the most frequently cited by OSHA."

The investigation found that the press had been placed in automatic mode by a supervisor while the employees working the press took a lunch break. The press was not "locked out" to prevent unintentional cycling of the operating parts. As the machine operator reached into the press, it began a new cycle. The operator was crushed to death.

As a result, OSHA cited the aluminium company for six serious violations. A lack of machine guarding was also cited. Machine guards ensure workers are not exposed to dangerous parts moving parts of machinery while working. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.

OSHA proposed penalties of $23,000 Euros for the company, which specializes in the manufacture of aluminum extrusion components and employs over 160 workers.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog offers our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. We also offer our prayers to the “supervisor” who was listed as a contributing factor in this incident. 

The Aluminium Times magazine had an article about lock out tag out (aka safe isolation).

The APSB has posted incident after incident where another worker’s actions contributed in some manner to an incident where an injury or fatality resulted. The guilt that those workers must carry must be unimaginable weight on them for the rest of their lives. That is why all workers must always remember their training, never make assumptions, and have the confidence to make someone aware that either their behavor or the procedure is unsafe. 

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