Joe Gaire, 52, of Freehold, New Jersey, suffered a serious injury at 4:45 p.m. after getting his hand caught between a roller and cylinder of a press that was being set up for printing. The employee was reaching up “to grab something" when he was caught in the machine. Gaire was undergoing treatment at the hospital on Thursday night, and his condition was not available.
If you know printing, you know this accident should not have happened. I wonder what Mr. Gaire was thinking when he reached in the machine.....I wonder what the mode of the press was at the time(running, inching, stopped); I wonder whether he chose to not activate a stop-safe button; I wonder if he was working alone or with a partner; I wonder the extent of his injury....
Given that Mr. Gaire is in his 50's, he likely has plenty of experience with his machine. Studies reveal that "We tend to perform more unsafe acts when we are tired, frustrated, angry, in a hurry, or distracted". Events like this remind me how important it is for us to really take time to focus on any decision that can affect safety, especially if we are not having the best of days.
