Federal investigators have concluded that an Appleton, Wisconsin pallet manufacturer’s failure to train employees in machine safety procedures — and ensure the procedures were followed — contributed to the fatal injuries suffered by a 57-year-old employee struck by the carriage of a lumber stacking machine in late 2023.
Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to a report of a worker fatality at Konz Wood Products on Dec. 5, 2023, and learned the company had not made sure the machine was locked out to prevent movement while the employee removed a board jammed in the machine. As he freed the board, the metal carriage moved, striking him and causing severe crushing injuries.
The stacker machine’s metal carriage moves boards onto pallets for transport, pushing and lowering each row of wood onto a pallet upon completion.
The fatal incident marked the fifth opening of an inspection since 2016 at Konz’s Appleton plant. The agency cited the company in 2019 after inspectors identified four serious violations, including one related to required lockout/tagout procedures and another related to lack of fall protection.
For its continued workplace safety failures, OSHA has placed Konz Wood Products in agency’s severe violator program and proposed $117,453 in penalties.
Source: OSHA
Topics Manufacturing
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