A notice from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to JBS USA suggests the company should be fined $174,566 following the amputation of a worker’s arm at the Swift & Company plant in Greeley, CO.
According to the letter, the employee was performing an end-of-shift cleanup task on the conveyor belt, when they reached for a product that fell off the end. The employee had previously removed their blue plastic sleeve that, among other things, ensures the smock sleeves do not dangle near danger zones, and the employee was caught in the drive sprockets of the conveyor.
There were three separate citations issued by OSHA: showing a lack of retraining on lockout procedures, not providing machine guarding and lack of employee’s use and knowledge of personal protective equipment.
A JBS spokesperson said they completed a “full-plant safety audit” and enlisted a “third-party expert to review our health and safety training and protocols.”
