Alliance Laundry Systems Cited in Incident

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced charges against laundry machinery manufacturer Alliance Laundry Systems, Ripon, WI, in connection with a machine-guarding incident in which an employee’s hand was injured.

The agency’s Appleton (WI), Area Office cited the company for one repeated, one serious and one “other than serious” safety violation, according to a news release. OSHA has submitted “proposed penalties” of $51,000, the release said.

OSHA inspected the plant after receiving a report that a 50-year-old employee had injured his hand after coming into contact with the operating parts of a folding machine. The injury resulted in the amputation of the employee’s right middle finger, the release said. OSHA Investigators said the machine’s safety guard was not properly installed. Alliance also failed to report the injury within 24 hours as the agency requires, due to a recent rule change.  

Dan Bowe, director of marketing, told Textile Services Weekly that Alliance Laundry Systems is working cooperatively with the agency to resolve the matter. “We respectfully disagree with OSHA,” Bowe said. “But we will continue to work with them toward a solution.” Click here for more information.

TRSA has a number of training resources designed to help laundry operators and suppliers avoid safety incidents. A DVD, titled Managing OSHA Inspections (Training DVD), was prepared by members of TRSA’s Safety Committee and includes a step-by-step review of OSHA requirements to help ensure continuing compliance.

On the issue of incident reporting, OSHA recently added a web-based tool to assist companies in providing the agency with this information in a timely fashion. Click here to learn more.