Guarding Violation Costs Plant $80,000

At a tubing and hosing manufacturing plant, a worker was working at a tube/hose extruder, where tubing was made and then wound up on a spool. The tubing wasn’t being wound evenly, so he attempted to smooth it out by hand. A rod protruding from the spool’s shaft/collar caught the end of his shirt tail and pulled him down and around the spool several times. He sustained a number of severe injuries. An MOL investigation noted that the machine had exposed moving parts that would expose a worker to a hazard and there was no guard or other device that prevented the access to the collar on the shaft of the winder. The plant pleaded guilty to a guarding violation and was fined $80,000 [Parker Canada Holding Co., Govt. News Release, July 3, 2014].