Pride Industries, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Mar 12, 2009: Employee slips and falls when dismantling racks

At approximately 9:15 a.m. on March, 12, 2009, Employee #1 was dismantling the I nterlake Pallet racking in a warehouse, when he and slipped and fell approximate ly 6 ft from the top tier to the middle tier of racks that were in the process o f being dismantled.

Incident on Mar 31, 2007: Employee burns foot in deep fryer

On March 31, 2007, an employee was working as part of a janitorial staff cleanin g the kitchen area of the college cafeteria. One of her jobs and the one she was attempting at the time of injury was the removal of exhaust filters from the ho od covering four deep fryers, which contained hot oil. The company policy was to use a stepladder to gain the height needed to reach the filters. However, on th e night of the accident, the ladder was not found in the area where it was norma lly stored and the worker could not find it. Therefore, she obtained a small sto ol and went to her workstation. She set the stool in front of the deep fryers wi th the intention of stepping from the stool to the top of the deep fryer unit, w hich had light, metal covers over each deep fryer. A second company policy was t o adhere to a "buddy rule," when performing this job because the company conside red it to be too dangerous to perform alone. Nevertheless, the second employee w as working elsewhere and the employee proceeded alone to step onto the deep frye r cover, which immediately failed to support the worker's weight and her left fo ot slipped into the hot oil causing second and third degree burns, which require d surgery and eight days hospitalization.

Incident on Oct 4, 2001: Employee's arm caught in machine

On October 4, 2001, Employee #1 was directed by his supervisor to keep wood and debris from jamming up machine Number 830, a Trommel separator. He was standing on the ground next to the end roller of this machine, when a piece of wood becam e caught in the belt and end roller. He reached into the machine to remove the p iece of wood and his right arm was caught in the end roller, while the conveyor was running. Employee #1 suffered a fractured right shoulder, a fractured elbow, and torn ligaments and muscles. Employee #1 was hospitalized for 4 days.

Incident on Mar 18, 1996: Employee's fingers injured in table saw

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on March 18, 1996, Employee #1 was operating a 10 in. Powermatic table saw. It was set up for left-handed use, with the rip fence on the left side of the blade. He was cutting 1 1/2 in. wide strips from an 8 ft lo ng, 3/8 in. thick plywood sheet, and had cut the sheet down to a width of 10 in. He was using a push stick to guide the strip through the saw when the approxima tely 8 in. wide piece bounced onto the unguarded blade and flew back toward Empl oyee #1. When he reached down for it, his right hand became caught in the saw bl ade, lacerating his thumb and amputating his index finger. First aid was applied , and he was transported to Roseville General Hospital. The guard was not in pla ce because the strips being cut were too narrow for it to fit between the saw bl ade and the rip fence.

Incident on Jul 11, 1994: Employee lacerates hand, hospitalized with staph infection

At approximately 11:00 p.m. on July 11, 1994, Employee #1 was attempting to thro w a plastic trash bag into a dumpster. A piece of broken glass fell out of the t rash bag and lacerated the top of his left hand. Employee #1 was treated at Kais er Hospital in Roseville for a one inch laceration (4 sutures). On July 17, he w as admitted for a staph infection and hospitalized for nine days.