Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1482239.015 - Akin Building Centers

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Investigation Summary

At 11:00 a.m. on June 26, 2020, an employee working as a laborer for a lumber products wholesaler was cutting a small 4-inch-wide by 4-inch-long by 4-inch-thick piece of treated pine block for a customer. The customer had marked lines on the wood block for cuts. The customer wanted the wood cut slightly shorter, so the employee began the cutting using a Rockwell Manufacturing Delta Unisaw. The employee was using both hands to control the wood without using either the fence or the crosscutting implement. The employee was also using the saw without the guard in place and stated that the guard had been left up when he came to use the saw. The employee took one hand off of the wood to readjust his hand. At this point, the blade caught the piece of wood and threw it back towards the victim striking him in the throat. The Unisaw motor was spinning at 3,450 revolutions per minute (RPM). The employee was taken to the main store building and then transported to the hospital. The employee sustained a hole in his voice box as well as broken cartilage in his throat and was hospitalized.

Keywords: Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Bypass, Bypass Guard, Cutting, Ejected, Flying Object, Inexperience, Laborer, Lack of Work Procedures, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Puncture, Puncture Wound, Safety Device, Unguarded, Wood