Accident: 170384572 - Finger Amputated In Power Press
Employee #1 was loading a new coil of 5 1/2 in. wide steel stock into the die of a Minster 400 ton part-revolution mechanical power press. She was using a single button to job the steel stock forward into the die. Employee #1 put her right index finger into a 1 in. deep pilot hole in the die to feel for the advancing steel. When she pushed the button to move the steel stock forward, it struck her finger, amputating the first digit.
power press, finger, amputated, press, press operator, mech mat handling, blind reaching, struck against, work rules
Accident: 655902 - Electric Shock & Fall - Contact With Energized Parts
An employee standing on a 1.8-meter-tall stepladder was trying to locate a leak in a covered pipe above a suspended ceiling. The employee reached around the pipe to locate the source of water and accidentally touched an exposed 277-volt, 20-ampere relay switch. He received an electric shock, which caused him to fall from the stepladder to the floor. He was hospitalized for his injuries.
electrical, electric shock, fall, unguarded live parts, elec equipment--misc, blind reaching, stepladder, ladder, e gi vi
Accident: 170361943 - Fingers Amputated In Rougher Saw
Employee #1, a 19-year-old trainee at a remanufacturing plant, was being taught by an experienced coworker how to clean up at the sizer unit. The sizer unit had three saws, including a top rougher saw. The coworker had left to attend to another matter when the rougher saw exhaust became plugged. Employee #1 pulled the pipe off the exhaust hood/guard and was reaching in to dislodge the obstruction when his left hand struck the saw blade. His index and middle fingers were amputated to the third knuckle, and his ring finger was fractured. Employee #1 had worked at the plant for a total of six hours, two that day and four the previous day. The machine had not been locked out. The company's policy was to use an air hose with a plastic wand as an extension tool, which the orders do not allow in this case.
saw, blind reaching, lockout, amputated, finger, clogged, untrained, work rules, inexperience, struck against
Accident: 170868731 - Fingertips Amputated In Rotary Air Valve
Employee #1 was checking an apparent leak in the rotary air valve under the dust collector at a surface mine. He was reaching into the bottom of the discharge chute when his hand struck against moving parts of the rotary air valve that he had not seen. The tips of the first and middle fingers of his right hand were amputated at the first joint.
maintenance, leak, hand, struck against, blind reaching, finger, amputated, work rules, valve
Accident: 201030806 - Finger Crushed In Horn Press
On August 7, 1997, Employee #1, a machine operator, was working in metal department #96 on a 30 ton, full-revolution horn press. The horn press was designed to finish forming a 5 by 22 by 15 metal part. The operator's job was to remove an unfinished part from storage, insert it into the press, position it and manually hold it in place. The operator then activated the ram by depressing the moveable foot pedal. Employee #1 was engaged in this work when he indicated that he was having difficulty properly positioning the metal tray in the machine. He felt there was an obstruction in the point of operation area that he couldn't see through the descending Plexiglas shield. Employee #1 reached under the guard to investigate the point of operation area with his right hand. While he was doing so, he inadvertently activated the ram, crushing his right index finger.
foot-powered press, press operator, point of operation, blind reaching, guard, foot control, struck by, finger, crushed, work rules
Accident: 171046980 - Fingers Injured In Cut-Off Saw
Employee #1 was operating an Irvington cut-off saw with a 14 in. blade when sawdust began to fly up in his face. Suspecting the dust collection system had become plugged, he shut off the saw using the operator's controls and got down onto floor level. He pulled the vacuum hose off the saw and looked inside. Noting that wood and sawdust had accumulated there, he opened an inspection plate on the side of the saw. As Employee #1 was reaching into the interior of the saw housing to clear the obstruction, his right hand struck the still rotating blade. He sustained partial amputation of his ring finger, damaged nerves in his thumb, loss of skin from his ring and index fingers.
saw, clogged, hand, blade, blind reaching, finger, laceration, skin, work rules, lockout
Accident: 201080165 - Fingers Amputated In Auger
At approximately 11:00 a.m. on September 19, 1996, Employee #1 was working on an incline auger at a dried fruit facility. The base of the auger was only inches from the floor and it had an approximately 3 in. by 6 in. slide gate with handle under the auger. The slide gate was only open when the conveyors were cleaned or when it was jammed by raisins. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 was using a water hose fed into the top of the auger to clean out stuck raisins; the guarding was adequate. He noticed that the water was not running through the bottom of the slide gate and assumed the gate was still shut. Since the slide gate was only inches from the floor, Employee #1 could not see that it was open. He placed his hand where the slide gate handle should have been, catching his fingers in the moving auger. The index, middle, and ring fingers on his left hand were amputated. Employee #1 was taken to R. K. Davies Medical Center, where his middle and ring fingers were reattached. His index finger was lost to the first joint. Employee #1 had worked for this company for eleven years and was the team leader/foreman for the application room. He had been trained in lockout/tagout, but in this case he did not follow the correct procedure of first de-energizing the equipment and then opening the gate. Employee #1 had performed this task on this and similar machines for many years. The company had an effective IIPP and a disciplinary policy. This area of the facility was permanently closed, and the rest of the plant was to close permanently on March 21, 1997.
agriculture, auger, blind reaching, finger, jammed, amputated, lockout, caught by, work rules, rotating parts
