Great Lakes Cheese of Wisconsin

An employee was performing sanitation duties on a machine. The employee removed piping to clean a valve inside. The air source to the machine was not locked out. While cleaning the valve, it actuated and caught her finger. She was hospitalized and the finger may be amputated.

An employee was preparing the serving line area for the evening meal. He was cleaning a stainless steel table when his left middle finger got stuck in a gap where a raised ledge is affixed to the table. As he pulled his finger from the space, his fingertip was amputated.

An employee was unloading goods from a pallet and putting them onto metal shelves when their wedding ring got caught on a shelf and their finger was amputated.

An employee was in the back of a dump truck emptying a bag from a mower. When he placed his hand on the side of the truck and as he came down from the truck, his ring became caught. The employee sustained an amputation to his ring finger.

On May 18, 2023, a maintenance employee was descending a fixed ladder when his ring was caught on a ladder rung. The employee sustained a fracture to the left ring finger that required surgery.

An employee was unloading a pipe from a fitted rack on his truck. As the employee grabbed a pipe strap, his glove became caught. The employee then went to step off the back of the truck and the top inch of his left hand ring finger was partially amputated.

An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.

A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was changing an O-ring on a pneumatic valve. The employee had placed the valve on his work cart and was applying air to open the valve and access the O-ring. After changing the O-ring, the valve closed on his fingertip, crushing it. He was taken to the hospital, where he received an amputation.

An employee was using a pike to move a pallet of sugar that was stuck in the powder racking. The employee fell backward, landing on his right leg. The employee's leg was fractured and he was hospitalized.

The injured employee was carrying totes of cheese when they tripped over another employee's foot/ankle and fell to the cement floor. The injured employee sustained six fractured ribs on the left side and was hospitalized.

The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.

An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.

A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.