LOTO is NEVER based on how “slow it moves”, even when it is 1 revolution/10 minutes

Have you ever been told… “it moves too slow to be a hazard”?  If you stay in the safety profession long enough, you will be presented with this viewpoint.  But LOTO is NEVER about how slow something moves; there is no exemption in the standard for such a thing.  Here is a case we can use to demonstrate that the speed at which a hazardous form of energy moves does NOT matter…

…worker’s upper body was caught by the rotating augur (moving at 1 revolution/10 minute), and the employee was decapitated and killed…

At 5:00 p.m. on March 3, 2020, an employee was using a high-pressure water hose to rinse the medium bird chiller while the material conveyor augur was still in operation. The employee leaned in the front portion of the chiller. Then, the employee’s upper body was caught by the rotating augur (moving at 1 revolution/10 minute), and the employee was decapitated and killed. There were no guards preventing the employee from accessing the moving portion of the augur.

OSHA CASE FILE