An 18-year-old mill worker was injured while attempting to remove some debris from a waste conveyor. His hand and arm were caught in the moving conveyor and pulled into it. A co-worker attempted to stop the conveyor at two shut-off buttons but both had been disconnected and made inoperable. The co-worker finally located an emergency stop more than 50 feet away, up a flight of stairs on a mezzanine.
a. If you were the OSHA inspector investigating this accident, what questions would you ask about the mill's lockout/tagout program? Why would you ask those questions?
b. How could use of lockout/tagout have prevented this accident?