Princess Paper Inc: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Aug 26, 2020: Employee amputates finger with cutter blade

At 1:15 p.m. on August 26, 2020, Employee #1 was using a cutter blade, which is located right next to Employee #1's right hand positioned at the far right end of the machine. The cutter blade starts at the far right end and moves across horizontally to the far left end of the machine. This horizontal movement is what allows the paper roll to be cut. As Employee #1 was holding this paper down with his right hand, with the cutter blade positioned at the far right end, Employee #1 accidentally activated the cutter blade. As the cutter blade moved from the far right end to the far left end of the machine, it cut through his middle finger on the right hand. This accident resulted in an amputation of the middle finger. Employee #1 was hospitalized.

Incident on Oct 19, 2012: Paper worker lacerates arm while cleaning machine

At approximately 6:30 a.m. on October 19, 2012, Employee #1, a 33-year-old male with Princess Paper Inc., was operating a 1998 Fabio Perini Type 716 B machine u sed to manufacture toilet paper. Employee #1 had just started working his shift. At first, Employee #1 turned on the electrical panel, the control board and the air compressor valve. Then Employee #1 programmed the operating speed and start ed the machine. While the machine was operating and producing toilet paper rolls , Employee #1 entered the belt and pulley cabinet to clean the pulley. The belts around the pulley were constructed with gear like teeth to engage with matching grooves in the pulley. According to Employee #1, the cleaning was performed dai ly to remove dust and the standard practice was to remove dust by using compress ed air or clean in the jog mode. However, Employee #1, used a piece of toilet pa per to clean the pulley. As Employee #1 applied pressure on the pulley, his righ t arm got caught between the belt and pulley. Employee #1 then used his left han d to remove the right arm from the machine. Employee #1 then got his right arm a nd his left hand caught between the rotating belt and pulley parts of the machin e. As a result of the incident, Employee #1 sustained serious injuries to his ri ght wrist and forearm and left index finger. Employee #1 was transported to a lo cal clinic. At the clinic, an ambulance was called and Employee #1 was transport ed to LAC-USC Medical Center. He was hospitalized for about a week for surgery f or injuries to his right wrist, right forearm and left index finger. Employee #1 had been working for the employer for about twelve years and had been operating the Fabio Perini machine for about five years.