OSHA cites paper product manufacturer for lacking safety procedures after worker suffers amputation; proposes $68K in penalties

Employer name: AJM Packaging Corp.

Inspection site: 569 Bowery Lane
Folkston, Georgia 31537

Citation issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a citation to AJM Packaging Corp. on Oct. 18, 2016, for one repeated safety violation.

Investigation findings: OSHA initiated an investigation at the Folkston paper product manufacturer after being notified that an employee suffered a partial amputation to his right hand’s middle finger on July 27, 2016. The 35-year-old assistant crew leader was refeeding paper into a bag machine when his finger was pulled under the feed roller and into an unguarded slitter blade.

OSHA issued the repeated citation to the employer for not developing adequate safety procedures to protect employees from the slitter blades on the bag machine. The company was cited for this same violation in October 2015 at this facility.

Proposed penalties: $68,591

Quote: “AJM Packaging was cited less than a year ago for this same violation and continues to expose workers to laceration and amputation hazards,” said Margo Westmoreland, OSHA’s area director in Savannah. “Employers must evaluate and correct safety and health hazards that expose workers to serious injury or death.”

The citation can be viewed at: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/legacy-files/newsroom/newsreleases/OSHA20161965.pdf

AJM Packaging manufactures paper products such as paper cups, plates, bowls and bags. The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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 Savannah Area Office at 912-652-4393.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.