Case Study

 
Case Study

You are the health and safety manager at ABC Manufacturing located at 123 Kingsway Industrial Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46235.  On June 17th at 8:00 am you are called out on a health and safety incident in department 284 Machine Tooling and Operation.  Upon arrival, it appears that Janice Wittle, a first shift employee who starts work at 6:30am, has cut off her pinky finger from her left hand.  Last week there was a similar incident where Bob Thomas cut off the tip of his middle finger on the same machine.  He was off from work for 7 days.  Janice, born in 1969 on Aug. 1st, has already been taken to Mother Mary’s Healing Hospital located at 777 Golden Rod Road, Indianapolis, IN 46777 via ambulance and doctors are assessing the situation.

While the victim is being treated at the hospital, you start to interview the other employees to find out what exactly led up to Janice’s injury.  One employee states that around 7:45 am, just before the accident, Janice was loading a new tray of parts into the machine.  She looked away briefly as a loose part fell on the floor.  Her finger slipped into the open blade and severed her finger.  Upon inspection of the machine, you find that the guard for the rotating blade is missing.  You immediately lock & tag out the machine pending further investigation. 

When you receive the report from the hospital, you learn that Janice suffered a clean cut and was able to have her finger completely reattached.  Doctors feel that she should have full mobility of the finger in three weeks, but they suggest that she stay home from work for at least four weeks for physical and mental healing and due to the medications she will be taking.  She will be in the hospital for a week for monitoring and observation.  The company has granted Janice 6 weeks of sick leave with pay.  Janice was hired 20 years ago when the plant opened in June. 
QUESTIONS

1. Based on the information above, complete the attached OSHA forms (300, 300A, and 301).
2. How many total incidents (including this one) has happened in this department?
3. What is the root problem of this particular situation?
4. Should you go deeper into your investigation to find out why the guard was taken down?  Why or why not?
5. What action should be so that this incident doesn’t happen again?