Worker Death: OSHA Points Finger at Employer

A worker death led to a finding by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) that an employer should pay $177,453 in penalties.

OSHA said the employer, a pallet manufacturer in Wisconsin, committed multiple safety violations.

It added that there have now been five inspections at the same Konz Wood Products plant since 2016, and that it found four serious safety violations there in 2019.

Even worse: One of those four was similar in type to the one that was connected to the fatal accident.

Worker death while working on machine

The deceased employee was working on a stacking machine, which has a metal carriage that moves boards onto pallets for transport. The machine pushes and lowers rows of wood onto pallets.

The employee tried to remove a board that was jammed in the machine. As he did so, the metal carriage moved and hit him. It caused severe crushing injuries that led to his death.

The safety violation: The company did not make sure that the machine was properly locked out so that it would not move while the worker cleared the jam.

Under the law, machinery must be disabled to prevent the release of what OSHA calls “hazardous energy” during servicing and maintenance activities.

OSHA: Do more

“Federal safety procedures protect workers from the dangers of coming in contact with moving machine parts, but when employers fail to train workers to ensure procedures are followed, workers are at risk for serious or fatal injuries,” OSHA Area Director Robert Bonack explained. “Konz Wood Products and Wisconsin’s entire lumber and wood products industry must work to improve employee safety by guarding machines during normal production and locking out and tagging equipment during the maintenance.”

After investigating, OSHA issued the employer two repeat violations for lack of proper lockout/tagout procedures and lack of fall protection when employees work above dangerous machinery.

More about lockout/tagout

Lockout/tagout refers to practices and procedures that are needed to disable machinery and equipment when needed to prevent the release of hazardous energy when service and maintenance activities are being performed.

Here are some of the some of the specific requirements that are in place relating to lockout/tagout procedures:

• Have an energy control program and energy control procedures.
• If equipment can be locked out, use lockout devices on it. Tagout devices can be used instead of lockout devices if they provide equivalent protection.
• Make sure new or overhauled equipment can be locked out.
• If machines cannot be locked out, make sure to have a tagout program.
• Make sure to use proper lockout and tagout devices that identify individual users.
• Make sure only workers who apply lockout/tagout devices can remove them.
• Inspect energy control procedures no less frequently than once per year.
• Provide proper training to employees.

Multiple violations after worker death

OSHA also cited the employer for 15 serious violations relating to lack of point-of-operation and machine guarding on saws and other equipment. In addition, it said there was a lack of fall protection and electrical hazards.

The agency proposed $177,453 in penalties. It also placed the employer into a club that no employer wants to be a member of: the agency’s severe violator enforcement program.

The employer has 15 days to:

• Comply with the citation
• Request an informal conference, or
• Contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

If it’s broke, fix it

No one ever wants to find themselves in violation of safety standards as determined by OSHA.

But this case is a strong reminder that if such a determination is made, employers need to take prompt and effective steps to remedy the dangerous condition and improve workplace safety.

According to the agency, this employer engaged in repeated violations that ultimately led to an employee’s death.