Worker's hand is amputated by power press at Akron, Ohio, manufacturer

Employer name: Grimco Inc., Fenton, MissouriInvestigation site: Grimco Inc. 861 East Tallmadge Road Akron, Ohio

Investigation findings: An employee's right hand was amputated while operating a mechanical power press at Grimco Inc. After receiving a report of the injury, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Cleveland area office cited the Akron-based manufacturer for nine serious safety violations, July 30.

The worker had been employed for four years at the plant which manufactures traffic control signs. She has been unable to return to work.

"This worker suffered a permanent injury that will forever affect her ability to earn a living because Grimco failed to protect her from known machine hazards. That is unacceptable," said Howard Eberts, OSHA's area director in Cleveland.

The serious violations include:

• Lack of adequate machine guarding
• Failing to comply with machine safety procedures such as the use of locking devices and de-energizing equipment to prevent he machine for operating during service and maintenance. These violations are among OSHA's most frequently cited and can result in death or permanent disability
• Not training employees about machine safety procedures and hazards

Proposed Penalties: $60,000

Link to citations: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20151494fs.pdf

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Cleveland Area Office at 216-447-4194.