Gabriel Container: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Feb 6, 2013: Employee amputates fingers in paper machine

At approximately 11:20 a.m. on February 6, 2014, an employee was working in the Mill Room at the calendar rolls area. The employee was injured while manually fe eding paper into the inbound running calendar rolls. He suffered a crushing, deg loving, and subsequent amputation to four fingers of the left hand. The employee was hospitalized and treated for finger amputation. The factors that caused the accident were an unguarded inbound nip point of metal rolls and failure to cont rol hazardous energy lockout/tagout when feeding paper into machinery.

Incident on Mar 21, 2005: Employee fractures wrist when caught by baling machine ram

At around 11:30 a.m. on March 21, 2005, Employee #1 was working in the corrugato r department of the Gabriel Container Co. He had been an employee of this manufa cturer of corrugated boxes, located in Santa Fe Springs, CA, for one month. He w as using a baling machine to compact paper and cardboard debris. He had his righ t hand on one of the baler's controls and his left hand in the danger zone near the platen, when his left hand got caught by the baler's moving ram. His left wr ist was fractured. He was transported to Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, where he underwent surgery. He was hospitalized there for a week. A g rille-type door intended to shield the danger zone and point of operation of the baler was not kept closed prior to the baler's activation. There was no safety interlock or safety sensor installed on the gate at the time of the incident eit her. The baler had been in use for some time without an interlock, according to an official who participated in the inspection. An interlock was installed a day after the incident, according to the same management official, who participated in an inspection on April 4, 2005. Another management official present at the i nspection stated that Employee #1 had bypassed one of the two controls, using a rope attached to a wood stick, and was running the baler machine by pressing one control only with one hand. Another employee was standing on the back side of m achine and witnessed the incident.

Incident on Mar 6, 2002: Employee's fingers amputated by press

At about 11:30 a.m. on March 6, 2002, Employee #1 with Gabriel Container Co. was installing a rubber plate on a cylinder of a Massenzana Vatino Flexograph print ing press. The press was stopped but not deenergized, and its moving parts were not mechanically blocked. The plate was long and covered the pedals which are us ed to jog the cylinders during plate installation. Without access to the pedals, a coworker was manually pushing the upper cylinder while Employee # 1 was manua lly pressing the plate against the lower cylinder. Employee #1's left hand becam e caught in the in-running rolls of the press, and he was hospitalized for the a mputation of four fingers. The employer did not provide or require the use of ex tensions or other methods to protect employees from injury due to such movement.