Stacker Error Claims Quad Worker's Life

PEWAUKEE, WI—A pressman working the overnight shift at a Quad/Graphics plant in Hartford, WI, died Feb. 3 of injuries he sustained while making repairs on a stacking machine.

Phillip Siehr, 40, died three days after the upper table on a stacker retracted and came down, pinning his head, the Waukesha Freeman (WI) newspaper reported Feb. 4. He was liberated by Quad/Graphics employees and transported to Aurora Medical Center in Hartford before being transferred to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa.

Mr. Siehr's condition was upgraded to satisfactory on Feb. 2 before succumbing to the injuries the following day, according to the newspaper.

According to the report filed with Hartford police, a witness said Mr. Siehr was working on an SMC stacker machine. The machine needed attention, as bundler belt problems on an upper portion prevented it from retracting and meeting with the lower part.

The witness told police that Mr. Siehr opened the interlock door and went under the machine to make repairs to the belt. When the belts were straightened, the upper table retracted and came down, pinning his head in the process.

Quad/Graphics will conduct its own investigation and assist the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in its inquiry.

Mr. Siehr was a 16-year veteran of Quad/Graphics. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and two children.