FACE Facts: Not Following Lockout/Tagout Procedures Can Be Fatal

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  New York State Department of Health ; Health Research, Inc.
• Description:
  A food production worker died after suffering a deep cut to his neck from a steel blade on a dough machine. On the day of the incident, the victim and a co-worker were assigned to clean the dough machine. The victim turned off the machine and locked the main power switch, but missed setting one of the three blade control switches to its lockout position. As the victim was cleaning a hopper above the blade, the co-worker asked him for his key to unlock the main power switch of the dough machine. The victim handed the key to the co-worker who turned on the machine. This caused the dough blade to go through its automatic cutting cycle, fatally injuring the victim. HOW CAN THIS BE PREVENTED? Provide employee training to ensure workers understand lockout/tagout programs. Conduct periodic inspections to endure lockout/tagout proceduress are followed. Modify cleaning procedures to avoid placing workers' bodies into points of operation. Install interlocks to eliminate possible human errors during machine maintenance and sanitation. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Food-Processing Industry Food Handling Food Industry Occupational Health Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Cutting-tools Food-processing Food-processing-equipment Food-processing-industry Food-processing-workers Safety-measures Safety-research Traumatic-injuries
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  New York State Department of Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Fact Sheet
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034200
• Citation:
  Troy, NY: New York State Department of Health, 2003 Jul; :1
• Contact Point Address:
  NYSDOH FACE Program, Bureau of Occupational Health, Flanigan Square, Room 230, 547 River Street, Troy, NY 12180
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Performing Organization:
  New York State Department of Health/Health Research Incorporated
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010901
• Source Full Name:
  FACE facts: not following lockout/tagout procedures can be fatal
• End Date:
  20060831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:89dea97d30d38d82a35bca0601c232c29d5ea1c737211c3176de59bfbe4b4adcf8717e37797b7dcc62e7ae33de674cb790c407548907b677cc03ba399538b46e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228572/cdc_228572_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 160.48 KB ]