We got word about a fatality at a warehouse. A 22-year-old temporary worker who was operating a forklift was crushed between two forklifts. The employee who was killed was picking parts from racks. The operator of the other forklift was working at the third shelf of a rack near the other employee. The employees stand […]
After six workers died following a liquid nitrogen leak that displaced the oxygen in the room they were working in, four companies were fined almost $1 million for the roles they played in the tragic incident. Foundation Food Group Inc. and Messer LLC, both based in New Jersey, and Packers Sanitation Services of Wisconsin and […]
A Texas manufacturer was cited by OSHA after a worker’s fingers were severed inside a 500-ton hydraulic press. Inspectors found the company failed to properly guard the operating parts of machines and equipment, leading to the incident, which saw the employee lose two fingers to the machine. The company has a history of violations with […]
A 16-year-old supermarket worker lost his arm when the meat grinder he was told to clean started unexpectedly, resulting in the life-changing incident for the boy and a $65,289 fine for the store. Clarksburg Supermarket and its owners are facing fines from the federal Department of Labor and Tennessee OSHA for the incident and related violations. […]
A railroad service company was fined $325,000 and sentenced to two years of corporate probation for committing an OSHA violation resulting in a worker’s asphyxiation death. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued the order June 7 to Dana Container, who was doing business as Dana Rail Care at the time […]
A Wisconsin grain facility was cited by OSHA after the engulfment death of a manager in a corn silo. The manager was last seen clearing corn debris from the silo. Employees called 911 when they couldn’t find him at the silo and after he didn’t show up for a regularly scheduled meeting or answer his […]
Companies often struggle with what are called “human factors.” These are problems dealing with human nature. This is a challenge for all of us, even though it can feel like we’re alone sometimes when trying to overcome these challenges. Human factors affect safety, but they can affect other key performance indicators (KPI) as well, such […]
Our lost-time incident rate (LTIR) was high. And we were using a large amount of resources to address these injuries. Sometimes, by the time an employee mentioned pain, it was too late. We had a LTIR injury on our hands. Our root cause analyses were great, but they weren’t helping us lower our injury rate. […]
Sometimes an employee’s blatant disregard of safety rules requires disciplinary action. For whatever reason, they get that “it won’t happen to me” attitude, then they get injured. Sometimes that isn’t even enough for them to get the point. Mistakes happen. Everyone has momentary lapses of reason and do something potentially dangerous. Then there are some […]
