Failing to ensure that a press was equipped with an automatic start-up warning device that sounded when a press was being closed from all positions has cost an Ottawa company $75,000, plus a 25 percent victim fine surcharge.
Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd., a security printing company, was investigated by the Ontario Ministry of Labour after a worker suffered crushed fingers and a broken wrist.
Workers were restarting a press machine that has two hydraulically powered towers that come together to close the press. To restart the press, buttons on the inside of the towers had to be reset.
A worker at the bottom of the towers opened the press to access reset buttons. A second worker accessed the top of the towers to press one of the buttons and a third worker at ground level pressed yet another button, which caused the press to start.
The towers closed on the second worker’s hand and wrist, causing injuries. While the press was equipped with a start-up warning device, it did not sound when the press closed after being opened just a few inches. The warning device likely would have prevented the worker’s injuries.
Read MoreA supermarket chain in Ontario, Canada, has been fined $47,000, along with a 25 percent victim fine surcharge, after a Ministry of Labour inspector discovered a disabled safety mechanism on a compactor in a Toronto store.
The disabled feature meant that employees could have accessed the interior of the machine while it was operating – resulting in serious hand or arm injury. Thankfully the problem was discovered before anyone was hurt.
A & P Canada Co. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 24 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments were carried out.
Read MoreREGION 1
OSHA issued 26 willful, repeat and serious citations for alleged violations of standards, including bypassed or removed safety interlocks on machinery, exposed live electrical parts and lack of required hand protection. Other alleged violations include improper extension of fork trucks and no warning signs and asbestos awareness training for workers. Proposed penalties total $247,600. [Danaher Tool Group, doing business as Holo-Krome Inc., Release No. 06-2093-BOS/BOS 2006-366, Dec. 26, 2006].
Read MoreYour workers’ hands are the tools of their trade. How well do they look after those tools? Without the right protection hands may get burned, frozen, cut or scraped. Workers could lose fingers, thumbs or even their lives.
That’s why safety gloves were invented. But not everyone is getting the message. The majority of all hand injuries reported annually are caused by failure to use proper hand protection.
To protect your hands, your gloves need to fit properly: Too tight, and you’ll fight to get your fingers to work; too loose, and you won’t be able to get a good grip. With loose gloves you will also risk trapping your fingers in a pinchpoint.
Different materials offer different types of protection. Of course, all gloves should be replaced once they become worn or damaged.
Here are some examples of gloves made from different materials:
Cotton: is cheap, reusable and absorbs sweat. It’s not long-lasting though, and offers little protection from severe hazards.
Leather: resists punctures, abrasions, sparks and impact, but has limited dexterity and cut resistance.
Rubber: natural rubber, nitrile and PVC gloves are best for chemical resistance, but they offer limited protection against burns and cuts.
Metal: metal-reinforced gloves and newer fibers such as Kevlar are lightweight and resist cuts well. Some fibers also resist heat.
Many tasks require specific hand protection. Welding and chemical hazards require long gloves, for example. But the material should be matched to the activity and hazards.
Following are some hand hazards and glove solutions:
Abrasives
Severe hazard – reinforced heavy rubber, staple-reinforced leather
Less severe – rubber, plastic, leather, nylon, cotton
Sharp Edges
Severe hazard – metal mesh, staple-reinforced leather, Kevlar or steel mesh
Less severe – leather, terry cloth
Temperature:
Severe cold: Rubber or fiber insulated gloves
Mild cold: Wool or cotton
Mild heat: Rubber, leather, heavy cotton
High heat: Leather, metal or fiber gloves
Chemicals and Fluids
No material keeps out all chemicals. Choices include natural rubber, neoprene, nitrile rubber and many others. Ask your glove vendor for a chemical resistivity chart. The best information may be the material safety data sheet (MSDS) accompanying each chemical.
Tips For Your Workers:
A worker using a piece of unguarded machinery lost the tip of his right middle finger and his employer has lost $75,000 in connection with the injury.
Vineland Manufacturing Ltd., a rail car chassis and driveline components manufacturer based in Beamsville, ON, pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice to a charge of failing to ensure that a machine was equipped with and guarded by a guard or other device to prevent access to a pinchpont between a ram/cylinder and material in a drill and tap machine.
A court heard that the worker’s hand was struck on July 4, 2005 by the ram/cylinder that descended as part of the machine’s operation. The worker’s right middle fingertip was amputated as a result. The court imposed a $60,000 fine plus a $15,000 victim fine surcharge.
Info to go: Read more about machine guarding by clicking on the link at www.SafeSupervisor.com
Read MoreREGION 2
Carrying Proposed Penalties of $273,000 OSHA cited a North Collins, NY, manufacturer for 39 alleged violations of health and safety standards, along with failure to correct a hazard cited in a previous OSHA inspection. A spill of 250 gallons of hydrochloric acid forced the evacuation of the plant and a school on Sept. 6, 2006. The company was issued three willful citations carrying $148,500 in proposed penalties, for failing to provide medical evaluations, fit testing and respirator use training. Several repeat violations were cited regarding alleged lack of hand protection, lack of eyewash facilities, lack of hazard communication training, lack of hazardous energy control procedures and training, and electrical hazards. Dozens of serious violations were also cited. They included blocked aisles, obstructed exits, unsecured materials and equipment, problems with powered industrial trucks, machine guarding issues, compressed gas storage concerns and additional electrical hazards. [Crescent Marketing Inc., doing business as Crescent Manufacturing, North Collins, NY. Release number 07-333-NEW/BOS 2007-055, March 7, 2007].
Read MoreREGION 2
A residential complex that failed to protect its workers against asbestos hazards has been issued four willful citations. These citations allege failure to provide workers with required safeguards, failure to monitor employees’ exposure levels, failure to inform them of the presence, location and quantities of asbestos, and failure to institute a training program and label asbestos-containing material. Employees were routinely required to enter crawlspaces known or presumed to contain asbestos material. An OSHA inspection was undertaken in November 2006 in response to a complaint. The complex was also issued five serious citations alleging failure to provide appropriate hand, face and eye protection, absence of a hazard communication program, failure to properly label and dispose of asbestos-contaminated materials, a lack of quick-drenching eyewashes and respirator safety deficiencies. [Parkway Village Equities Corp., Queens, NY. Release Number 07-529-NEWA/BOS 2007-107].
Read MoreSticks and stones can break your bones, but sticks actually help prevent nasty amputation injuries when used to push wood through a table saw. Unfortunately, no sticks were provided to a Saskatchewan worker who lost three fingers and a thumb as a result of contacting a saw blade.
Saskatchewan’s Occupational Health and Safety branch says Classic Woodcraft Ltd. of Saskatoon, SK, has been fined almost $20,000 for failing to comply with a regulation mandating the use of such tools, and for failing to ensure the safety of a worker.
Info to go: Read more about table saw safety at http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/woodwork/tbl_saw.html
You can click on the link at www.SafeSupervisor.com
Read MoreOne minute a young worker was using a rag to clean a glue machine. The next minute, the worker’s right hand and wrist were drawn into moving rollers, causing severe damage.
An Ontario Ministry of Labour investigation determined that the machine l
acked a guard to prevent such injuries. Glendale International Corporation, an Oakville, ON-based company operating as Glendale Recreational Vehicles in Strathroy, ON, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that an in-running nip hazard on the glue machine was guarded to prevent access.
The company must pay $75,000 plus a 25 percent victim fine surcharge.
Info to go: Read more about nip hazards by clicking on the link at www.SafeSupervisor.com
Read MoreREGION 5
Fines totaling $150,700 have been proposed for two willful and 21 serious alleged violations of federal workplace safety standards. OSHA opened an investigation in December 2006 after a worker’s thumb was amputated at a plant that manufactures metal stamping, fabricated metal products and welded assemblies. The two willful violations allege failure to provide point of operation guarding to the side and back sections of 18 mechanical power presses and failure to provide brake monitoring and control reliability for 15 mechanical presses where the operation required operators to perform hand-in die feeding. Alleged serious violations for which the company was cited include storing oxygen and acetylene gas cylinders together, failure to fully enclose or guard band saws, other machine guarding issues and failure to provide training, communication and certification on the energy control program for affected employees. [Kate Corp., Berea, OH. Release Number 07-764-CHI, June 4, 2007].
Read More
