Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Ornua (Whitehall) Ingredients Inc., 17201 Specialty Way, WHITEHALL, WISCONSIN 54773
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Other finger(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was removing debris from a cheese cooker as it was being assembled. A valve in the machine (designed to divert material when metal is detected) triggered and injured the employee's right hand. He suffered a partial amputation to the middle finger, as well as a cut on the ring finger.
Amputation Other finger(s) n.e.c. Heating and cooking machinery, appliances unspecified
More severe injuries at Ornua (Whitehall) Ingredients Inc.
On August 22, 2022 at 12:20 PM, an employee was scraping product from the cooker door when their hand contacted the auger blade. Three fingers were amputated from their right hand.
A temporary employee turned off a planer machine, opened the housing, and began clearing a jam. The machine's spinning blade caught his right hand and degloved the index finger.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.
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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311513)
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.