Plant Safety: Own It -- or Else You May Pay Dearly

The printing industry was saddened two months ago by the death of a 44-year-old Quad/Graphics employee who died following a baler accident in the print firm’s Atglen/West Sadsbury, PA plant, situated between Philadelphia and Lancaster. The victim was attempting to clear a clog in a book baler, local police reported. While he was inside the machine, the jam cleared, causing a load of paper circulars to fall onto him. Firefighters worked to remove the pile of books and were able to free the man through an access door in the machine, but not before he went into cardiac arrest. He later expired at an area hospital; the cause of death was most likely suffocation or/and crushing injuries.

“Balers are man-killers,” asserted Gary Jones, assistant VP for Environmental, Health and Safety Affairs at the Printing Industries of America (PIA), when asked to comment on the tragedy at Quad. “This isn’t an isolated incident. Cyclones and balers jam on a regular basis. It’s how people interact with the balers that make them unsafe,” he explained. “Human-machine interaction always increases the risk of injury on any device.”

Jones admitted to not knowing the details of the recent baler-related death in Pennsylvania. He noted, however, that such accidents illustrate the critical importance of lockout/tagout (LOTO) and confined space entry procedures. (See sidebar below.) “These machines present two life-threatening hazards and must be in a zero-energy state” before anyone even attempts to clear a jam. “Getting inside of them without a proper confined space entry program is also a violation. The access window is generally only two-by-three feet, so it’s a very confined space,” Jones added. “There always needs to be a second person posted [at the baler], and a formal rescue plan is required.” Even then, it is much better to clear the jam from outside the unit as getting inside of one of the units is one of the most dangerous actions an employee can take in a printing operation.

Rest assured that the fatal account has been noticed by regulatory authorities at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). After all, not developing and implementing a lockout/tagout program -- including employee training -- is a common violation cited by OSHA, according to PIA safety expert Jones. He added that the printing industry is considered by OSHA to be a “high-hazard industry” for amputations. (Combustible dust is another high-risk area of concern in the print industry.) Fines are prominent as of late, and they can be steep.

“Large OSHA fines happen too regularly,” Jones opined. “Especially over the past five to six years, since the Obama Administration has become more aggressive. There has been a change in the attitude at OSHA.” The compliance crackdown has resulted in more inspectors in the field and, hence, more violations being cited, he continued. “First-time penalties are up to $7,000 but it’s usually multiple fines, not just one. They add up.”

Heavy Fines and Misconceptions

Earlier this year, Image Screen Printing & Productions of Dayton, NJ, and sister firm Freeze/Central Mills Inc. were fined more than $64,000 by OSHA. Included among the 15 violations cited: improper lockout/tagout practices, blocked exit routes, lack of chemical training, excessive noise exposure (with no hearing conservation program), and not providing eye-wash stations, two investigations uncovered at the company that imprints and supplies T-shirts and sweatshirts to large national retail stores such as Macy’s, Target, and Walmart.

The first inspection was conducted last October in response to a complaint alleging workplace safety and health hazards, the DOL reported. “The safety and health hazards … put workers at risk of being seriously injured or worse, and should be immediately corrected,” said Patricia Jones, director of OSHA's Avenel Area Office. “Employers are legally responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for employees,” she reminded.

PIA’s Jones said that a lot of print firm owners and managers falsely believe that older equipment, which may not have come equipped with guards, is “grandfathered” in, which is not at all the case. “OSHA does not allow printing operations to use equipment that has unguarded hazard areas such as ingoing nip points, pulleys, drive shafts, etc.,” he informed. In fact, even some new equipment may not be properly guarded.

In the case of popular wide-format print devices, Jones encouraged users and shoppers to ask questions of manufacturers. “This technology is not coming from traditional press vendors,” he said, which can poses challenges for issues such as machine guarding. There is room for improvement, too, with solvent inkjet printers, Jones added. “There are indoor air-quality issues regarding [proper] ventilation and even the need to obtain an air permit from the state/local air pollution-control agency can be required. ”

Remembering “Thunder Alley”

Two decades ago or so, before online search and mobile smartphone technology prevailed, you could hear and feel the heavy pounding of the web-offset directory presses churning out phone books (remember those?) by the pallet load in RR Donnelley’s Dwight, IL division. With their ear plugs firmly inserted, employees semi-fondly referred to the plant as “Thunder Alley.” But is noise abatement a challenge in 2015?

Sure it is, according to Jones, not only in pressrooms but also in binderies. “Web presses are typically above the acceptable 85 decibels and we are now seeing some sheetfed presses that also exceed the threshold,” he noted. “Anything above that [level] requires annual hearing tests and training for employees; above 90 decibels requires hearing protection,” such as ear plugs.

“Folders can be very noisy,” Jones added, “but newer models have baffles put on the side rails rendering them amazingly quiet. The air pumps on four-color sheetfed presses and stitchers also can cause a noise issue.” Contributing to the sound pollution is the construction of most factories, which has not changed much since the 20th century. “Concrete walls and metal ceilings allow noise to reverberate,” he said. “There’s nothing to absorb or trap the bouncing sound waves.”

Championing Safety

Awareness is key, which is why Jones advised that every printing firm designate a safety “champion” who is trained and knows what others do not. Ownership is needed, he urged, not to “police” safety but to watch it and reinforce compliance.

Who this person is varies largely by the size of the operation. Large companies have people charged with overseeing safety. At Quad/Graphics, for instance, the safety process is multilayered: Steve Piette is the director of global risk management, with all safety people reporting up through him. Mike Manzella is senior VP of environmental health, safety, and quality at rival RR Donnelley. “Safety is our first and most important measure of operational excellence. Our commitment is reflected in an OSHA recordable case rate that is 60 percent below the industry average,” said Manzella, who doubles as the Chicago-based mega printer’s chief sustainability officer.

At medium-sized print firms, safety and compliance responsibilities often fall on a human resources executive or, perhaps, a maintenance worker, while at smaller commercial printers it’s usually the owners. For training purposes, OSHA offers training classes that are “pretty good,” said Jones, “but tend to be generic” and not specific to the printing industry. PIA compliance audits can serve as road maps. “Better us than OSHA to identify potential violations because there’s no penalty,” he pointed out. Member companies also have free access to the association’s Hazard Communications Packet – an $800 value – as well as unlimited phone and email access to Jones and his team.

Ergonomic Solutions

Simply stated, ergonomics is the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. Once trending and since died down from being OSHA’s center of attention, Jones said there still are many simple and low/no cost actions that printing firms can take to make working conditions better and more comfortable for employees. Carpal-tunnel wrist injuries may not be as prevalent as they once were, but shoulder and back pain are commonplace in the ink- or toner-on-paper business.

Workstation design and set-up has gone a long way toward ingesting less anti-inflammatory ibuprofen and fewer trips to the orthopedic doctor. Many manual-labor tasks in the bindery can be performed on adjustable lift tables – often home-made-- that raise work up to waist level, reducing lower back strain. The best ergonomic solutions come from taking some time to observe the tasks involved with doing the actual job, said Jones. “I’ve seen load heights for jogging tables on guillotine cutters raised with pallet jacks or Little Joes,” he reported. On the other hand, “I’ve also seen cutter operators not using wooden tools to align paper. Some don’t even wear gloves,” yielding sore hands and giving industrial meaning to the stinging term paper cut.

Three basic pieces of ergo-equipment that every printer can easily add, according to Jones:

1. Adjustable chairs
2. Adjustable tables with risers or blocks for hand work
3. Padded floor mats (adjacent to press consoles, for example)

An OSHA Ergonomics Guidebook is available for sale from PIA: www.printing.org.

View Image Screen Printing’s citations.

What Is Hazardous Energy?

Energy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources in machines and equipment can be hazardous to workers. During the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment, the unexpected startup or release of stored energy could cause injury to employees.

What are the harmful effects of hazardous energy? Workers servicing or maintaining machines or equipment may be seriously injured or killed if hazardous energy is not properly controlled. Injuries resulting from the failure to control hazardous energy during maintenance activities can be serious or fatal. Injuries may include electrocution, burns, crushing, cutting, lacerating, amputating, or fracturing body parts, according to OSHA. For example:

• A steam valve is automatically turned on burning workers who are repairing a downstream connection in the piping.
• A jammed conveyor system suddenly releases crushing a worker who is trying to clear the jam.
• Internal wiring on a piece of factory equipment electrically shorts shocking employee who is repairing the equipment.

Craft workers, electricians, machine operators, and laborers are among the 3 million workers who service equipment routinely and face the greatest risk of injury. Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy lose an average of 24 working days for recuperation.

What can be done to control hazardous energy?

Failure to control hazardous energy accounts for nearly 10 percent of the serious accidents in many industries. Proper lockout/tagout practices and procedures safeguard workers from the release of hazardous energy. OSHA's Lockout/Tagout fact sheet (PDF*) describes the practices and procedures necessary to disable machinery or equipment to prevent the release of hazardous energy. The OSHA standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) (29 CFR 1910.147) for general industry outlines measures for controlling different types of hazardous energy. The LOTO standard establishes the employer's responsibility to protect workers from hazardous energy. Employers also are required to train each worker to ensure that he or she knows, understands, and is able to follow the applicable provisions of the hazardous energy control procedures:

• The OSHA standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) for general industry, outlines specific action and procedures for addressing and controlling hazardous energy during servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment. Workers must be trained in the purpose and function of the energy control program and have the knowledge and skills required for the safe application, usage and removal of the energy control devices.
• All employees who work in the area where the energy-control procedure(s) are used need to be instructed in the purpose and use of the energy-control procedure(s) and about the prohibition against attempting to restart or reenergize machines or equipment that is locked or tagged out.
• All employees who are authorized to lockout machines or equipment and perform the service and maintenance operations need to be trained in recognition of applicable hazardous energy sources in the workplace, the type and magnitude of energy found in the workplace, and the means and methods of isolating and/or controlling the energy.
• Specific procedures and limitations relating to tagout systems where they are allowed.
• Retraining of all employees to maintain proficiency or introduce new or changed control methods.

OSHA's Lockout/Tagout fact sheet (PDF) describes the practices and procedures necessary to disable machinery or equipment to prevent the release of hazardous energy.