Everyone who has been on a Walt Disney World vacation knows that the vacation wouldn’t be nearly as magical without all the knowledgeable Cast Members who can be found at the theme parks, Disney Springs, all the hotels, basically, everywhere you look. Cast Members are the first to welcome you home and the first to say that they hope to see you again. While Guests see hundreds of Cast Members on a daily basis, there are just as many they don’t see who are working hard behind the scenes.
A lot of Cast Members are hired by Disney to keep things nice and clean. That applies to both the Parks and the hotel rooms. Guests create a ton of laundry, so there are many Cast Members needed to do the laundry and make sure there are always clean sheets and towels should Guests want or need them. Some of the laundry is cleaned at a site in Kissimmee, right near the entrance to Disney near the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex. It is at that location that a dangerous situation unfolded which resulted in Disney getting fined more than $12,000 by OSHA — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
According to a report shared by OSHA with Florida Politics after a records request:
On Oct. 27, an employee was working alongside co-workers to unjam and realign the belt of a conveyance system after laundry bundles jammed it up, according to the report from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Employees used their hands to get the belt running again when the accident happened.
One worker climbed on top of a tool cabinet to move the belt since the rollers stood more than 7 feet tall. But the belt was energized so it started moving again. The worker started screaming because his “arms were pulled between the tension roller and the belt all the way up to his elbows.”
The machine was turned off using an emergency stop button and the employees helped the injured man.
OSHA investigated and ruled the conveyor belt was still energized, tension roller guards “had been missing for some time” and employees used their hands instead of tools to unjam the conveyor. Disney also had no specific procedures on how to clear jams. All of those issues contributed to the accident, the report said.
The report also stated that Disney cooperated fully during the investigation. Originally, OSHA was going to fine Disney about $22,000, but Disney worked out a settlement with them to pay a total of $12,431. After the investigation, Disney also had guarding made and installed on the laundry machines so that the same accident would not happen again.