Dangers in Feeding Machinery
Man Killed in Accident with Wood Chipper
By Don Riley/Network Indiana
9/2/2009
Atwood, Indiana - An employee of a northern Indiana tree trimming company was killed Tuesday morning when he was apparently pulled through an industrial wood chipper.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department says 37-year-old James Vician of Plymouth was feeding tree limbs into the chipper at a job site in Atwood.
His co-worker walked away briefly, but when he returned he couldn't find Vician. After briefly searching the area, he discovered that Vician's body had been shredded into the hold of the truck.
To make a positive identification, Kosciusko County Coroner John Sadler is using his experience in identifying victims of the 1994 Roselawn plane crash in Newton County.
This gruesome news story from central Indiana is specific to the dangers of utilizing powerful commercial chippers in the tree service industry, but there are many similar dangers throughout other industries. Many facilities utilize powerful equipment where employees must manually feed product into them.
Today, take a moment and look at the equipment you work with. Is there a similar danger? Is there an appropriate guard and/or pull cord across the opening? Could this happen here? Take a look and let me know if you find a similar hazard.