Illinois-based GSI Group Cited After Worker Fatality

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited GSI Group LLC, headquartered in Assumption, Ill., after a worker was killed at the company’s Newton plant on June 7 while operating a laser cutting machine. The manufacturer of grain dryer equipment has been issued one willful and two serious safety violations for failing to have machine guarding in place.

The company faces $78,500 in penalties.

OSHA’s inspection resulted in one willful violation for the company’s failure to have guards in place on its automatic laser cutting machine. The worker who died was struck within the “point of operation” zone of the machine.

GSI Group also received two serious violations for failing to use lockout/tagout procedures while performing various operations on the laser cutting machine and failing to effectively close an electrical box opening.

The Newton facility employs 215 workers. GSI Group LLC has manufacturing facilities in Assumption, Newton, Paris and Flora, Ill., as well as in six foreign countries.

The company has been inspected, under various name changes, 17 times since 1976, and previously was cited for electrical hazards, machine guarding hazards and lockout/tagout violations.

The OSHA inspection was the first of the Newton facility.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its current citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: OSHA