Dec. 22, 2015

Worker suffers fractured finger when hand becomes caught in
unguarded machine at Berlin, Wisconsin, screen printing shop

Employer name: Wilson-Hurd Manufacturing Co., Berlin, Wisconsin

Citations received: Dec. 17, 2015

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Appleton Area Office cited the company for two repeated and one serious safety violations.

OSHA initiated an inspection after receiving a report that a worker's right middle finger was fractured when it was caught in an unguarded mechanical power press machine at the facility on Sept. 22, 2015.

Investigators found that Wilson-Hurd did not conduct annual inspections and audits of energy control procedures. Additionally, OSHA found that the company failed to train workers in machine safety procedures including the use of lockout/tag out procedures.

Quote: "Injuries like this are preventable when companies install machine guards and train workers on safety procedures," said Robert Bonack, OSHA's area director in Appleton. "Fortunately, this employer immediately took the machine out of service and fixed the problem to ensure no one else was injured."

Wilson-Hurd was cited for similar violations in 2011. The company is based in Wausau, Wisconsin, and operates two production facilities in Berlin.

Proposed Penalties: $43,560

View Citations 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) 447-4194.

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Media Contacts:

Scott Allen, 312-353-6976, allen.scott@dol.gov
Rhonda Burke, 312-353-6976, burke.rhonda@dol.gov

Release Number: 15-2418-CHI

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