Trainee Incident under Incompetent Supervisor Results in $70,000 Fine

A worker was learning how to thread multiple strands of plastic strapping material on a production line as part of peer-to-peer job advancement training with a senior, experienced operator who was also a lead hand. The lead hand instructed the trainee to shut down the machine. While the trainee was reaching for a side stop control panel near exposed rollers, one hand and forearm got entangled in plastic strapping. As he tried to use the other hand, it also became caught. The lead hand witnessed the event and stopped the machine. The trainee suffered bruising, sprains and bone fractures as well as amputation of the tip of one finger. The employer pleaded guilty to failing to appoint a competent person as supervisor when it appointed the lead hand as the supervisor. The court fined it $70,000 [Samuel, Son & Co., Ltd., Govt. News Release, Nov. 18, 2014].