A plastic molding company, Quality Blow Molding Inc., in Ohio hired a 21-year-old to work in their manufacturing facility. Plastic bottles, golf tees and additional plastic products are manufactured at Quality Blow Molding Inc. Unfortunately, the 21-year-old employee ended up losing 4 fingers as he attempted to clear a jam in one of the machines.

Quality Blow Molding, Inc has been cited with two serious violations and estimated $171,270 in fines. OSHA had previously cited the company with similar violations.

OSHA will frequently cite companies for failure to provide adequate safety training to employees, improper safety procedures or lack of machine guards.

What does SRP Environmental recommend? There are a lot of things companies can do to avoid fines and employee injuries.

Here are five recommended practices geared towards new hires:

• All new hires must attend New Hire Orientation and Safety Training prior to performing tasks the employee was hired to do.
• All new hires should also be trained in handling specialized equipment or specific job tasks. The new hire should watch a demonstration of performing a certain task and then provide a demonstration before being allowed to perform that task on his/her own.
• A new hire should be properly identified through a different color hardhat or vest. This allows other personnel to recognize and pay close attention to the new employee.
• A new hire should be accompanied by a mentor for the first six months of employment to ensure safety policies are followed.
• Supervisors should periodically review the performance of the new hire and have an open conversation with the new hire.

And as a bonus: The employer should develop a company manual that is user friendly and meets or exceeds all OSHA requirements and specific company needs.

For additional information or questions, contact SRP Environmental at (318) 222-2364 or visit us online.

New release originally posted on www.OSHA.gov.