Companies in two different states were issued safety citations recently after workers suffered amputations at their facilities. In Iowa, an employee of O'Neal Manufacturing Services was injured while operating an unguarded press brake. In Texas, the injured employee of canned food company Bruce Foods Corporation had not been trained on lockout/tagout procedures.
O'Neal Manufacturing Services was issued one repeat serious citation by Iowa OSHA, which assessed $64,670 in penalties. Inspectors found that the company failed to adequately guard press brakes to protect workers from contact with the machine's points of operation. The company was cited for the same violation in 2018.
Bruce Foods Corporation faces $194,350 in penalties after being cited by federal OSHA for 24 serious safety violations including failing to train workers in lockout/tagout procedures, inadequate machine guarding, lack of fall protection, and for exposing workers to live electrical parts.
In Pennsylvania, Etna Construction, Inc. was cited by OSHA for exposing workers to excavation hazards at a worksite. The citations included failing to:
- install protective systems inside a trench
- provide a safe means of exit from the trench
- ensure that workers wore hardhats, and
- properly guard protruding steel.
Etna Construction faces penalties of $208,560.
