Aerotek Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Oct 25, 2021: Employee amputates finger when pulled into rotors

At 2:30 p.m. on October 25, 2021, an employee was cleaning a positive displacement pump when his finger was pulled in to the rotors. The employee suffered a right index finger amputation and was treated without hospitalization.

Incident on Sep 1, 2021: Employee sustains multiple injuries when crushed by falling

At 8:40 a.m. on September 1, 2021, an employee was working as a temporary worker for a staffing agency that recruits and provides manual labor to a national food ingredients distributor. The employee was operating a powered industrial vehicle (PIV) to move a Supersack Bag to the staging area. The bag was going to be secured to the Flexicon Z-Clip Bag Strap Holder, which is a type of crane spreader bar designed to lift and hold the straps of these types of sacks. Each sack weighs approximately 1,000 kilograms and has four individual hook straps located at each of the four corners of the sack. The employee strapped each hook strap into the strap holder clips on the spreader bar and then used the crane controls slowly hoist the sack. The employee continued to raise the sack slowly to ensure tension on each strap. He then maneuvered the sack over the dump station grating area before lowering it toward the metal grating. He stopped the sack approximately 3 feet above the grating area and allowed it to remain suspended there. At approximately 9:15 a.m., the employee walked to the grating area where he bent over and stuck his head and right hand in the air gap under the bag. At the same time, he extended his right arm reaching for the drawstring. The drawstring allows the sack to open from the bottom, allowing sugar to dump from the bottom of the bag onto the metal grating. As the employee grabbed the drawstring, the sack instantly fell onto the employee, pinning him against the grating. The employee became disoriented and tried to use his left hand to push the sack, but he could not. He began screaming for help and several coworkers rushed to his assistance trying to remove the sack. They cut the side of the bag to empty the sugar and after several minutes were able to free the employee. The employee was hospitalized to treat a broken jaw, broken nose, broken cheek bones, and a fractured right arm.

Incident on May 9, 2021: Employee partially amputates finger in conveyor belt gap

At 10:40 p.m. on May 9, 2021, an employee was working as a general production worker for a company that provides recruiting and staffing services to various host employers. The employee was assigned to work for a coffee roasting facility. There were multiple production lines which package roasted coffee before transporting those packages via conveyor to a case packager. The employee was working on production line GL-5 adjacent to the conveyor after the package scale. The employee had been working under the direction of a coworker who was the senior operator. The employee was standing adjacent to the conveyor belt between the scale and the rotary conveyor table. She was tasked with making sure that coffee bags did not get stuck moving down the line and with removing bags which had not properly sealed. The employee was reaching in with her hand to retrieve the bags. She had been performing this work for approximately 2 hours. As she was reaching out to grab a coffee bag, she caught her hand in a gap between the surface of the conveyor belt and a trough in a metal plate. The employee was hospitalized to treat a partial amputation to her right index finger.

Incident on Oct 19, 2020: Employee partially amputates two fingers when struck by fall

At 6:45 p.m. on October 19, 2020, an employee was working as a laborer for a temporary help service. The employee was caught up on work when a coworker asked him to get the metal stand ready so that he could bring more metal stock pieces to the employee. The coworker noticed that the employee now had plenty of pieces of stock metal to work on. However, a stock piece of metal had fallen off the main plate and onto the Ultra Burn Table plasma machine. The employee used a 4-foot pry bar to try to remove the fallen metal from the table. As the employee tried to grab the metal, the metal plate moved away from the magnet and caused the mother metal plate to fall on top of the pry bar. The employee's left-hand fingers were crushed between the pry bar and the plasma table. The employee was hospitalized to treat partial amputations to his ring and middle fingers.

Incident on Sep 3, 2020 (fatal): Employee with covid-19 infection dies

On August 18, 2020, Employee # 1, called in sick. He died from COVID-19 on September 2, 2020. Employee # 1 had underlying medical conditions; obesity, diabetes, hypertension, plaque psoriasis, osteoarthritis.

Incident on Sep 12, 2019: Employee suffers seizure while working

At 3:00 p.m. on September 12, 2019, an employee was working outdoors as a technician through an employment placement agency. The employee suffered a seizure due to a personal medical condition. The employee was treated without hospitalization.

Incident on Aug 15, 2019 (fatal): Employee is struck by rotating grape press and is killed

At 9:15 a.m. on August 15, 2019, an employee was using a rotating grape press and was struck by it. The employee fractured his skull and was killed.

Incident on Jul 6, 2018: Employee falls through skylight while cleaning worksite and

At 2:15 p.m. on July 6, 2018, an employee was on the rooftop where he was cleaning the worksite. The employee stepped through a skylight and fell approximately 21 feet to the interior concrete floor, sustaining a collapsed lung as well as other unidentified injuries. The employee was admitted to UCI Medical Center.

Incident on Apr 5, 2018: Employee is adjusting machine and crushes three fingers

At 9:10 a.m. on April 5, 2018, an employee was adjusting a machine and crushed three middle fingers on his left hand. The employee was hospitalized.

Incident on Jul 11, 2017: Employee's finger tip is amputated while cleaning a slurry p

At 9:00 a.m. on July 11, 2017, an employee was helping coworkers clean and chisel slurry pot vessel #2. Prior to the accident a coworker operated the E STOP [ON/OFF switch] at least 2 times to stop the machine so it could be cleaned. Cleaning the slurry pot consists of chiseling and picking the debris or hardened slurry or ceramic. The employee reached out to grab a piece of hardened slurry/ceramic from the slurry pot when simultaneously a coworker operated the E STOP to ON mode. The employee's right middle finger made contact with the dried slurry/ceramic. The employee's finger was pinched or scraped between the rotating inner surface of the slurry pot and the stationary plow. As a result, the employee sustained a partial amputation of the tip of the right long finger. The employee was transported to medical center located in San Leandro and Union City, California and discharged within 3 hours. 3 hours.

Incident on May 9, 2017: Employee injures leg when crushed between upright and forkli

At 10:45 a.m. on May 9, 2017, an employee was using a Crown forklift (model number: RC3020-30, serial number: 1AZ04438) to load a trailer. After loading was complete, the employee maneuvered the forklift to an area to park the lift. However, it malfunctioned and wouldn't stop. He engaged the deadman pedal, but it still wouldn't stop. As a last resort, the employee extended his left leg to push off a pole or upright surface. His left left got crushed between the pole or upright and the forklift. He injured the lower portion of his left leg, which he was hospitalized and received treatment.

Incident on May 9, 2017: Forklift brakes fail, injuring employee's leg

At 10:45 a.m. on May 9, 2017, an employee finished loading a trailer using a Crown forklift (model number: RC3020-30, serial number: 1AZ04438), which he was parking. As the employee maneuvered the forklift, he was unable to stop it. He made several attempts to stop the forklift, including plugging the forklift and activating the deadman pedal. The employee then put his left leg out to push off a pole/upright, resulting in his left leg being crushed between the pole/upright and the forklift. The employee sustained compartment syndrome to the lower portion of his left leg. As a result, the employee was hospitalized and received treatment for his injury. Further inspection of the forklift identified that its right side adjuster rod was missing, causing the brakes to not operate correctly.

Incident on Dec 7, 2013: Employee amputates finger when caught in hvac system

At approximately 1:25 p.m. on December 7, 2013, Employee #1, a HVAC maintenance mechanic of Aerotek, was assigned to perform maintenance on an HVAC system. The employee was lubricating and checking the belts for wear and tear. Employee #1 w as using a rag to wipe down the cover of the HVAC system to determine if this wa s the correct unit listed on the work order. He then removed the cover on the HV AC system to locate any wear and tear, as it was not visible from the outside of the unit. As the employee bent over to place the cover on the ground with his r ight hand, his left hand that was still holding the rag became entangled in the rotating shaft of the HVAC unit. Employee #1 was taken to Marina Del Rey Hospita l by Emergency Medical Service paramedics, where he was treated for an amputatio n of his left index finger.

Incident on Jul 2, 2013: Employee amputates finger in sheet metal rolling machine

At approximately 4:00 p.m. on July 2, 2013, Employee #1, a welder for AEROTEK In c. and assigned to work at Olson Irrigation Systems, was rolling sheet metal on a metal rolling Dimension Power Rolling machine (Model Number P6.135, Serial Num ber 04072025) creating a cylinder. The machine's pinch point/point of operation is protected by a constant contact type switch, a foot operated dead man switch and a stop cable positioned at knee level around the machine. While holding the metal from re-entering the machine the employee's fingers were caught by the mac hines rollers pulling the fingers into the pinch point/point of operation. A cow orker transported Employee #1 to Grossmont Hospital, where he underwent hand sur gery, partial amputation of the index finger of the left hand. Employee #1 was h ospitalized.

Incident on May 20, 2013: Employee amputates thumb when caught by rack and forklift

On May 20, 2013, Employee #1 was operating a Cascade Side Shifter forklift when he ran into a fixed metal storage rack. The employee's left hand caught between the rack and some part of the forklift causing degloving and crushing, amputatio n-type injury to his left thumb. Employee #1 was transported to an area hospital , where his thumb was reattached. Employee #1 was hospitalized for four days.

Incident on Dec 19, 2012: Employee is pinned by tractor, fractures legs

On December 19, 2012, Employee #1, with Aerotek, was working with coworkers and trying to move a utility vehicle that was stuck in the mud. Employee #1 was at t he rear of the vehicle pushing it side to side to free the unit from the mud. Wh en the vehicle broke loose from the mud, it was in reverse, and the vehicle back ed over and pinned Employee #1 between the utility vehicle and a parked excavato r. Employee #1's legs were fractured, and he was taken to the hospital and relea sed the same day.

Incident on Dec 16, 2012: Worker mangles hand in unguarded stripping machine

On December 16, 2012, Employer #1, a 44-year-old male with Aerotek Inc., was fee ding a pre-cut cable into a stripping machine without guarding the point of oper ation. The guard of the machine was not installed in place to prevent the exposu re to the shredding blades, by Rare Earth Recovery LLC, who was the controlling and supervising employer at the jobsite. Employee #1 got his hand caught in the machine and sustained a mangled right hand injury on his second day at work. Emp loyee #1 was transported to a hospital in San Francisco and underwent several ha nd surgeries.

Incident on Nov 13, 2012: Employee gets finger amputation

On November 13, 2012, Employee #1 of Aerotek, Inc., sustained an amputation inju ry to the left middle fingertip when it was caught between a part on a hydraulic compression molding press die and the shear edge of the mold cavity. Common pra ctice was to wedge a bolt between the body of the pneumatic ejection system spri ng-loaded valve and its control lever in order to keep the ejection pins in the raised position to facilitate removal of stuck parts. In this case, the pins ret racted quickly per design, pulled the stuck part back against the die mold, and trapped Employee #1's finger.

Incident on Apr 17, 2012: Employee lacerates leg between pallet jack and guardrail

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on April 17, 2012, an Employee #1, with Aerotek, Inc. , was operating an electric pallet jack, driving at a high rate of speed. Employ ee #1 lost control and struck a guardrail, catching his right foot between the j ack and the guardrail. His right foot was lacerated, and he was hospitalized.

Incident on Jul 21, 2011: Employee loses finger in accident

At approximately 1:30 p.m. on July 21, 2010, Employee #1 was working with a mach ine and cut his left middle finger. Employee #1 was taken to a local medical cen ter.

Incident on Jul 11, 2011: Employee's thumb is caught in roller, partially amputated

At approximately 9:45 a.m. on July 11, 2011, Employee #1, a Lab Technician of Ae rotek, Incorporated, was working alone in the "physical lab" processing the calc ine for laboratory sampling. Employee #1 was operating the Morse Brothers Machin ery Company, Roll Crusher Model GM-6219, with an Identifier Number of RR69-48. E mployee #1 was attempting to clean the "excess, bigger lumps" from the machine t hat were stuck and thought that the machine was off. The machine is equipped wit h a hinged interlock guard that does not stop the rollers immediately. The machi ne has a 6 to 7 second time lapse when the interlock is released. Employee #1 re ached in and his right thumb was amputated to the first knuckle. Employee #1 was transported to John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek, CA, where he had surgery to reattach his right thumb.

Incident on Jun 10, 2010: Heat exhaustion

On June 10, 2010 Employee #1, a manufacturing technician of Aerotek suffered hea t exhaustion while unloading trays from an oven. Employee #1 was wearing a Power ed Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) while doing the process. Employee #1 was work ing with Employee #2 who helped her exit the room. Employee #1 was transported t o Saint Rose Hospital for treatment for mild heat exhaustion.

Incident on Apr 27, 2010: Employee amputates two fingers while operating machinery

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on April 27, 2010, Employee #1, a spring machine oper ator, and a coworker were removing a partially manufactured automobile wheel fro m the mandrel of a metal spinning machine. As Employee #1 completed a spinning o peration for a wheel on an S-1 automatic-spinning machine, Model Number A/S 3040 , Serial Number 03-736, and the machine stopped, he grabbed a hold of the wheel and started to pull it out of the mandrel. However, the spinning machine was sti ll in production mode and the tailstock automatically reversed, pushing the whee l back into the mandrel and pinching Employee #1's fingers between the edge of t he wheel and the mandrel. Emergency services were contacted and Employee #1 was taken to Tri City Medical Center in Oceanside, where he was hospitalized and tre ated for amputated ring and pinky fingers on his right hand. The incident invest igation heard conflicting stories leading up to the accident, but determined tha t the machine was operating properly. It was determined that either Employee #1 or another worker must have depressed the controls on the machine, causing the t ailstock to reverse.

Incident on Feb 22, 2010: Employee lacerates finger in wood planer machine

At 11:30 a.m. on February 22, 2010, Employee #1 was working on a wood planar mac hine with a wooden board. Employee #1 had his pinky finger below the level of th e guard and the fatty part of the skin got cut off on the planar blade. Employee #1 was transported to Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside. Equipment and mater ials used was an SCMP Planar machine, Model Number F410, Serial Number AB27221, Reference Number 050423 and a 12 to14 foot board. The primary employer reported the accident at 3:39 p.m. on February 22, 2010 at to DOSH.

Incident on Nov 20, 2009: Employee amputates finger when caught in machine

At approximately 8:00 a.m. on November 20, 2009, Employee #1, a temporary machin e operator, was working on an Enformer EF-11, Model Number C-85, and Serial Numb er 2651, nipple sizing machine to widen the ends of catalytic converters. A cata lytic converter part became stuck in the machine, and Employee #1 attempted to r emove it without the use of an extension tool. He struck the switch, and it enga ged the nipple widener. His right index finger got caught between the widener pa rt of the machine and the nipple end of the converter part. Employee #1 was tran sported to a nearby medical center, where the surgeon was unable to reattach the amputated right index finger.

Incident on Jun 16, 2009: Employee's finger is amputated in welding machine

On June 16, 2009, Employee #1 was a machine operator at a manufacturer of automo tive exhaust parts. He was operating a Kimura seam welding machine, Model No. SB R-150-BK, Serial No. 605102. The machine had a dressing wheel that cleaned the w elding wheel as it turned. The wheels are located 10-in. from the point of weldi ng operation. Employee #1 got his gloved right hand caught between the dressing wheel and the weld wheel and suffered an amputation injury to his right middle f inger. He was not hospitalized.

Incident on Apr 6, 2009: Employee is burned by hot water while cleaning cages

At approximately 8:00 a.m. on April 6, 2009, Employee #1, an animal technician, was working at a research facility. Employee #1 and a coworker began setting up the cage washer (a large industrial automatic dishwashing machine) to clean anim al cages. There is a clean out pipe on the side of the machine where there is a filter used to catch solid debris. The clean-out pipe was cleaned the Friday bef ore. It has a clamp which holds the lid in place over the pipe. Employee #1 turn ed on the machine to heat up the water. Once the water reached 185 degrees Fahre nheit at the rinse side, he turned on the pump. As Employee #1 was getting ready to load the machine he went to move a rack of bottles toward the front of the m achine. The cap on the clean-out pipe blew off. The pipe sprayed hot water and s team on Employee #1, hitting him in the groin and upper right thigh, causing sec ond-degree burns. Employee #1 was not wearing an apron or boots at the time. Emp loyee #1 was hospitalized for approximately ten days.

Incident on Jul 10, 2008: Employee experiences heat illness

At approximately 12:30 p.m. on July 10, 2008, Employee #1 experienced heat illne ss, while performing HVAC system maintenance in the ceiling plenum of a unair-co nditioned building at an Air National Guard base. Coworkers provided first aid a nd called an ambulance for emergency medical treatment. Employee #1 was taken to St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, CA, where he was held overnight for treatment and discharged the following day. Employee #1 lost approximately one week of work, while recuperating at home.

Incident on Apr 14, 2008: Employee amputates fingertip using conveyor

On April 14, 2008, Employee #1, an employee of a temporary staffing agency, was working at a manufacturing site assigned the job of testing the packaging machin e by keeping product boxes on the conveyor. The small boxes continually fell off the conveyor. Employee #1 had to squat to the floor to pick up the fallen boxes . When down, Employee #1 lost his footing. Employee #1grabbed on to the packagin g machine to prevent his face from entering the machine's moving parts. Employee #1 right hand index fingertip was caught between an unguarded belt and pulley d rive and was amputated. Employee #1 was treated at Kaweah Delta Medical Center a nd was not hospitalized.

Incident on Mar 24, 2008: Employee suffers fractures in fall from loading dock

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on March 24, 2008, Employee #1 was working for Aerot ek. He was on a temporary assignment in the shipping/receiving area for BERG, a manufacturer of orthopedic braces. To provide ventilation, Employee #1 opened on e of the doors on the loading dock. He was injured when he fell off the loading dock while pulling down the bug screen. He fell approximately 4 ft to the concre te driveway. Employee #1 was hospitalized at Tri-City Hospital for treatment of a fractured arm and several fractured ribs.

Incident on Jul 18, 2007: Employee finger crushed, amputated between pipe and roller

At 7:30 a.m. on July 17, 2007, Employee #1, a machine operator for Aerotek Profe ssional Services, received a right index finger crush injury while working as a temporary worker for the Claude Laval Corporation. Employee #1 was cutting a gro ove in a 14-inch diameter stainless steel pipe when his finger got crushed in be tween the pipe and the inside/outside groove rollers. This occurred as he was ho lding the pipe with two hands while trying to straighten it to ensure that an ev en groove was made. Employee #1 was taken to Community Regional Medical Center i n Fresno where a decision was made to amputate the finger due to the extensive d amage.

Incident on Apr 10, 2007: Employee amputates fingertip while greasing machine bearing

At 10:50 a.m. on April 10, 2007, Employee #1 was working as a contract employee of Aerotek Staffing Agency, a firm that provided temporary or continuing help on a contract or fee basis. Aerotek, his primary employer, sent him to work as a m aintenance mechanic at GSD Packaging, LLC, his secondary employer. GSD Packaging manufactured Fold-Pak food pails, the containers that hold carry-out food. Empl oyee #1 was greasing the bearing end of a tie rod on a container forming machine . As the machine was running, he held a rag to the tie rod end to remove excess grease. The rag became snagged, and Employee #1's hand was pulled into area betw een the rod and the adjacent rotating shaft block. The tip of the middle finger on his left hand was amputated. He was transported to the Concentra Medical Cent er in Fresno, CA, but he was not hospitalized.

Incident on Nov 8, 2006: Worker's right foot is crushed by heavy object

On November 8, 2006, a worker's right foot was crushed by a heavy object. The in jury was deemed to be not reportable.

Incident on Aug 17, 2004: Three employees are exposed to carbon monoxide

On August 17, 2004, Employees #1, #2 and #3 working in a cold storage facility u nder new construction were exposed to 450 ppm carbon monoxide. The source of the CO was from gas and propane powered lifts used in the construction activities. Employee #1 was hospitalized while Employees' #2 and #3 were not.

Incident on Oct 28, 1998: Employee fractures arm in fall from scissor lift

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on October 28, 1998, an employee was installing commu nication cable and used the scissor-lift to gain access to the areas where the c able was to be installed. He was working on the south-side of the building, near a loading dock that was still under construction. After completing one section, he moved the lift to the next area, where cable was to be installed. As he move d the vehicle, his front-left wheel rolled into a 20-in. deep floor opening, cau sing the scissor lift to tip over and fall to the concrete floor. The employee w as at the controls of the 60 square feet platform. When the employee began to fa ll, he wrapped his left arm around the guardrail and held on to it. When the sci ssor-lift hit the ground, the impact caused a serious fracture to his arm. The e mployee said that the scissor-lift continued to roll 2 ft after he applied the b rakes. The employee was hospitalized and treated for a fractured left arm.