Lack of machine guarding can prove fatal in all sorts of businesses.
Example: OSHA has cited AMF Bowling Centers for three serious and three repeat violations following the death of a worker at the company’s Addison, TX, facility. Total fines: $112,600.
The worker was killed on Feb. 21, 2011, after being caught in a pin setter machine while clearing a jam.
OSHA says the company failed to install the required machine guarding on the pin setter.
The repeat violations include failure to:
- provide machine guarding, and
- provide guards for pulleys that were 7 feet or less from the floor.
The serious violations involved failure to:
- conduct periodic inspections of energy control procedures
- ensure fixed stairs were provided for access from one structural level to another, and
- ensure employees were protected from falling into the pin setter machines by providing a guardrail system or a personal fall arrest system.
AMF has 15 business days to decide whether to contest the fines.
You can find more information about OSHA’s machine guarding standard here.
