Reddy Ice fined by OSHA for accident ($8,000 employee lost his leg last year)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=317287

A staff report
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LUMBERTON — Reddy Ice has been fined more than $8,000 for safety violations that may have contributed to an accident in which an employee lost his leg last year.

The state Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division fined the company $8,050, according to a report released Thursday.

OSHA listed two serious violations against the company. The report said Reddy Ice did not install or provide fixed stairs where employees routinely climb onto and cross 8-inch wide concrete ledges that are about 2 to 3 feet above the concrete floor while accessing the control panel of the ice machine. The control panel is a little more than 8 feet above the floor.

The company also was cited for not having machine guards in place to protect employees in the machine area from hazards, the report stated.

The report said the housing of a rotating auger was guarded by a sheet of polycarbonate plastic that was one-eighth of an inch thick.

“On or about Aug. 19, 2008, an employee was performing troubleshooting on the ice machine while standing on 8-inch wide concrete ledges 33 inches above the concrete floor when his foot slipped and broke through the sheet of polycarbonate plastic which resulted in an amputation,” the report said.

FULL story at link.