An employee complained to his manager in reference to a machine that he felt did not have the proper guarding. He complained that the guarding was not present and that the blade was fully exposed.

The manager advised the employee that maintenance was aware of the issue but did not have the manpower currently to work on this particular issue and would get around to within a few days. The employee was advised to exercise extra caution while working on the machine and was given a pair of gloves.

Moments later, the employee returned, and reported to the same manager that he just had a near miss and almost ran his hand into the exposed blade because he was not paying close attention.

The employee implored to the manager that this time it was a near miss, but next time, himself or someone else may lose a finger or a hand. What should the manager do at this point? What type of recommendations should be made to fix the problem? How should the manager “track” this problem to ensure that it is fixed?