The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited D.O. Productions LLC for lockout/tagout violations after unguarded machinery caused severe hand injuries to an employee at the frozen food manufacturer’s Lodi, N.J. facility.

A D.O. Productions employee suffered severe lacerations and contusions to the hand after it was caught in a rolling machine. OSHA inspectors determined that D.O. Productions failed to guard the machine’s in-running nip point, a repeat violation for which OSHA cited the company in 2018. OSHA also cited the company for six serious violations involving lockout/tagout and other safety hazards.

The company faces $77,184 in penalties.

“Manufacturers must ensure proper safeguards are in place on all machinery to prevent workers from suffering serious injuries,” said OSHA Hasbrouck Heights Area Director Lisa Levy in a U.S. Department of Labor press release. “This injury could have been prevented if the company had complied with OSHA standards and corrected the violation when previously cited.”

OSHA’s Machine Guarding webpage provides compliance assistance resources to help employers identify amputation hazards, and follow required procedures to guard stationary and portable machines properly.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply.

Read more here.