A few weeks back I posted a OSHRC decision where an OSHA citation for not treating the CNC doors as guards was upheld. Since then I have received numerous e-mails and a few phone calls telling me I am crazy, as if it was my decision. Then last week the Video of the Week was a series of video’s showing failures within a CNC machine and how a closed door would have helped protect the operator. Now, with perfect timing, OSHA again issues citations after a worker, 36, died after he became entangled in the machine’s operating spindle, as he hand-polished a 40-inch long metal cylinder. He suffered injuries that led to his death two days later. He had worked at the plant for two years.
An investigation into the incident by federal inspectors found his employer allowed the computer numerical controlled (CNC) lathe to operate with its safety interlocks bypassed. The interlocks prevent workers from coming in contact with moving machine parts. OSHA cited the company for one willful, and one serious violation of machine safety standards, as a result of the worker’s death on March 17, 2016. OSHA’s inspection found the lathe’s door that provided guarding, was open exposing the worker to the machines rotating parts. Unrelated to the incident, agency inspectors found that the company also failed to follow proper procedures to fully power down equipment to prevent sudden movement or starts. OSHA has proposed penalties of $124,709. View the citations received by the company on Aug. 31, 2016, here.