Man killed while cleaning machine at Gardena manufacturing facility
An employee at a Gardena manufacturing plant was fatally injured Monday when a machine he was cleaning somehow turned on, authorities said.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health was notified of the accident at German Machined Products Inc. and has opened an investigation, spokesman Frank Polizzi said.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department received a call at 12:41 p.m. about a person trapped inside a metal-cutting machine. When emergency workers arrived at 12:45 p.m., the man was dead, spokeswoman Vanessa Lozano said.
The worker, whose name has not been released, was a Latino man in his 60s, according to a representative of the county coroner’s office.
German Machined Products specializes in machining and assembly for the aerospace industry, according to its website. Its Gardena plant focuses on complex machining while another facility in Mexicali, Mexico, handles simple- to medium-complexity parts, according to the website. The company was founded in 1972 and has always served the aerospace industry.
A call and an email left with the company were not immediately returned Monday.
In 2014, Cal/OSHA issued one serious and four general citations against the company, with $11,875 in proposed penalties for failing to properly guard hazardous machinery at the same site, Polizzi said
The citations were upheld after an appeal, but the penalties were reduced to $6,050, he said.
Polizzi said Cal/OSHA will interview workers, check equipment and review safety and training procedures at the company.
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