OSHA ESTABLISHES NATIONAL EMPHASIS PROGRAM TO REDUCE AMPUTATIONS

Friday, November 9, 2001


The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a special National Emphasis Program that is aimed at reducing amputations in general industry workplaces. As such, the agency has issued Compliance Directive CPL 2-1_33 for Compliance officers for the selection of facilities for inspections.
The National Emphasis Program on Hazardous Machinery associated with
Amputations expands the existing national emphasis program on mechanical power presses. This new initiative targets all types of power presses, including press brakes, saws, shears, slicers, and slitters.

"Operating this type of equipment can be very dangerous. Injuries involving these machines are often fatal or result in permanent disability," said OSHA Administrator John L. Henshaw. "This new program will help us identify and guard against the workplace hazards that are likely to cause amputations."

The program applies to general industry workplaces where these machines are present. Companies with fewer than ten employees are also included, except those industries exempted from programmed inspections.

Background. OSHA has determined that the current National Emphasis Program on mechanical power presses needs to be expanded because of the continuing incidence of amputations that have resulted from the operation of saws, shears, slicers, slitters, and power presses of all types. The goal of OSHA's enforcement policy is achieving optimal worker protection.

The operation of saws, shears, slicers, slitters, and power presses can be extremely dangerous and compliance with OSHA's machine guarding and safeguarding standards is frequently not achieved. Injuries involving these machines often result in death or permanent disability and OSHA's inspection history indicates that employee exposures to these unguarded or inadequately guarded machines are prevalent in many workplaces.

The machines identified were determined from three sources: a 1990 National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research project on machine safety, the OSHA IMIS accident database, and BLS data. The NIOSH project reported that workers who operate and maintain machinery suffer numerous amputations and over 800 deaths per year. According to BLS, about 10,000 occupational amputations occur each year (10,167 in 1996; 10,852 in 1997; and 10,243 in 1998). Saws and presses consistently account for the top two sources of amputations. NIOSH identified shears and slicers as important sources of amputations, which was confirmed by BLS. Shears are classified in a category, which ranks in the top sources of amputations in manufacturing for 1996, 1997, and 1998. Slicers are classified under "food and beverage processing machinery" which ranks in the top sources for manufacturing and retail trade for 1996, 1997, and 1998. Slitters do not rank as high as the other four sources related to amputations. They are classified under paper production machinery for 1996, 1997, and 1998.

Consolidation of the NIOSH, OSHA, and BLS data revealed that these types of machines cause the most amputations.

Inspection Site Selection. Inspections conducted under this NEP must be scheduled and conducted pursuant to the following priorities. Inspections must concentrate on industries and particular establishments where saws, shears, slicers, slitters, and power presses are used and/or where there have been injuries involving these types of machines.

The following is a list of sources for obtaining information to develop a list of establishments to be inspected.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes. The twenty-nine (29) SICs listed are those which, based on nationwide IMIS data, had the highest number of violations of 29 CFR 1910.212, .213, and .217 for the period October 1997 through September 1998.


Rank SIC Code Industry

1. 3089 Plastics Products, not elsewhere classified (nec)
2. 3444 Sheet Metal Work
3. 3441 Fabricated Structural Metal
4. 3469 Metal Stampings, not elsewhere classified
5. 3499 Fabricated Metal Products, nec
6. 3714 Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories
7. 3599 Industrial and Commercial Machinery and Equipment, nec
8. 3442 Metal Doors, Sash, Frames, Molding, and Trim
9. 3443 Fabricated Plate Work (boiler shops)

1910.213, Woodworking Machinery

1. 2511 Wood Household Furniture, Except Upholstered
2. 2431 Millwork
3. 2499 Wood Products, not elsewhere classified
4. 3089 Plastics Products, not elsewhere classified
5. 2421 Sawmills and Planing Mills, General
6. 2434 Wood Kitchen Cabinets
7. 3732 Boat Building and Repairing
8. 2448 Wood Pallets and Skids
9. 2451 Mobile Homes
10. 2541 Wooden Office and Store Fixtures, Partitions, Shelving, and Lockers

1910.217, Power Presses

1. 3469 Metal Stampings, Not Elsewhere Classified
2. 3499 Fabricated Metal Products, Not Elsewhere Classified
3. 3444 Sheet Metal Work
4. 3442 Metal Doors, Sash, Frames, Moldings, and Trim
5. 3441 Fabricated Structural Metal
6. 3496 Miscellaneous Fabricated Wire Products
7. 3429 Hardware, Not Elsewhere Classified
8. 3443 Fabricated Plate Work (Boiler Shops)
9. 2542 Office and Store Fixtures, Partitions, Shelving, and Lockers, Except Wood
10. 3714 Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories Industries That Rank High (Descending Order) on Multiple Amputations Criteria During 1996 - 1998

FOUR DIGIT SICs

3089 - Plastics Products, Not Elsewhere Classified

3444 - Sheet Metal Work

3441 - Fabricated Structural metal

3714 - Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories

3599 - Industrial and Commercial Machinery and Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified

3443 - Fabricated Plate Work (Boiler Shops)

2431 - Millwork

2421 - Sawmills and Planing Mills, General

2434 - Wood Kitchen Cabinets

2448 - Wood Pallets and Skids

2541 - Wood Office and Store Fixtures, Partitions, Shelving, and Lockers

3496 - Miscellaneous Fabricated Wire Products

3429 - Hardware, Not Elsewhere Classified


This chart is the convergence of high number of machine violations combined with high rates and/or number of amputations for data collected from 1996 through 1998.