Investigation of Amputation Injury Reveals Safety Issues at WI Facility

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that an investigation following the amputation injury of a worker who was cleaning equipment at a Neenah, Wisconsin, manufacturing plant in February 2023 has found the company failed to follow required safety procedures.

The inspection by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revealed that Dixon Ticonderoga Co., an art supply manufacturer headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, lacked adequate machine safety procedures at its Neenah facility. Since 2020, OSHA has cited the company three previous times for similar violations.

OSHA inspectors determined the injury occurred as the worker tried to clean a press used to imprint images in labeling and packaging processes, which lacked required safety guards. Inspectors also learned that the company had not developed clear and specific procedures for controlling hazardous energy and did not protect workers by employing these measures before servicing and maintaining equipment.

This incidence follows similar accidents that occurred at a Chicago-area pizza manufacturing plant in October and November 2022, where workers suffered amputations while cleaning equipment. In December 2022, a temporary worker cleaning one of the machines at the location was killed. In that investigation, OSHA found Gurnee, Illinois-based Miracapo Pizza Co. could have prevented the death if proper safety protocols had been followed.

Dixon Ticonderoga has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.