Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1476192.015 - Mueller Copper Tube Company, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Jackson Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:30 a.m. on May 18, 2020, an employee was working for a firm that made copper tubing. The firm had two separate lines, South Cascade and North Cascade. At the end of each line, copper tubing went through a process of automatic sizing. Sludge could develop at the exit funnel at each line's cooling box. At the chiller area, debris built up from the cutting, sizing, and cooling process. This sludge was cleaned at the beginning and or end of each shift, during a three-shift operation. Operators removed this sludge with a putty knife to prevent water from getting on the floor during production. The machines had been there for thirty years. The operator cleaned the location on each Cascade line an average of once per shift. This cleaning would take five to ten minutes. The firm had no lockout procedure for this cleaning. In this incident, an operator at the South Cascade line was cleaning out the exit funnel after the chiller with a putty knife. When copper and scrap were removed, the machine cycled. A tube advanced and struck the operator's gloved hand. The operator's left index finger was caught between the exit funnel and the copper tubing being fed. The employee suffered a fractured finger. He was hospitalized.

Keywords: Broken Bone, Caught Between, Caught By, Cleaning, Extrude, Extrusion, Extrusion Machine, Finger, Fracture, Glove, Hand, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine Cycled, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation