Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1493041.015 - Seneca Foods Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Madison Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 5:45 a.m. on September 9, 2020, an employee was setting up a process line. The employee was inspecting a process line and reached underneath an enclosure of a paddle wheel to feel for any product on the paddle wheel, when the employee's finger came in contact with the paddle wheel, resulting in an amputation to the first digit of the right index finger. The employee was hospitalized. At the time of the incident, the paddle wheel was moving and was in operation. The paddle wheel was not shut down. The paddle wheel area of the canning line had a metal enclosure that enclosed the paddle wheel on all sides but the bottom. The enclosure had a cover on the top that used a latching system to stay closed with no need for special tools to open or close the cover and had no means to prevent the paddle wheel from operating if opened. The bottom of the enclosure was left open for the product to come down onto the canning line, however, plastic flaps were installed vertically to keep the product from overflowing out and onto the ground. The employee reached through the plastic flaps. The opening at the bottom is about 7 inches by 18 1/2 inches. The paddle wheel is controlled pneumatically, and there was a lever that controlled the speed located near the paddle wheel. This lever was not completely turned to its off position at the time of the incident.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Blind Reaching, Contact, E GI IV (no lockout), E GI VI (blind reaching), Finger, Inspecting, Lockout, Reaching, Reaching In, Unguarded, Wheel