Employer name: Besse Forest Products Inc., operating as Goodman Veneer & Lumber
Citations received: Feb. 1, 2016
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Appleton Area Office cited the wood veneer manufacturer for two repeated, four serious and one other-than-serious safety violation.
The agency initiated its inspection after a 58-year-old worker suffered the partial amputation of his right ring finger on Aug. 19, 2015. The injury occurred when his finger was pinched while unjamming a reel on a wood veneer machine.
Inspectors found the company failed to:
* Guard operating parts of machinery.
* Implement adequate machine safety procedures for clearing jams.
* Install railings on open side platforms and walkways.
* Train workers in machine safety procedures.
Quote: "Goodman Veneer and Lumber knows that an injury like this one is preventable when companies install machine guards and train workers on safety procedures. Following the injury, the company took immediate action to review and change its machine safety procedures to prevent injuries in the future," said Robert Bonack, OSHA's area director in Appleton.
Proposed Penalties: $76,000.
Citations: View here.
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 Appleton Area Office at 920-734-4521.
