A 23-year-old supervisor lost his life to a rotating sidearm brush while cleaning the floor of an older mechanized carwash. The young man turned the working arms and brushes on to increase the pressure of his wash-down hose. This was not a recommended procedure and the owner reported being unaware of this dangerous practice carried out by the new employee.

The company had safety procedures in place with training, meetings and printed procedures for employees to follow, which the young man had received. However, the 30-year-old machinery did not have posted lockout/tagout instructions, which might have saved his life. […]