UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 11:00 a.m. on January 16, 2019, Employee #1, who primarily worked in shipping , was told by her supervisor that she would be working in another area, using a Pneumatic Grommet Machine, Micron America PL-10, placing grommet holes in banner s. This was done by placing the banner under the die and holding it in place wit h two hands while stepping on a foot-operated device to activate the press. The employee was provided hands-on training by another non-supervisory employee, wh o explained how to use the machine and showed her how to operate the machine thr ough 2-3 cycles. The grommet machine contains a barrier guard attached to the up per portion of the unit, which descends prior to the upper die being activated. The barrier guard measures three-quarters inches from the upper die, exceeding t he one-quarter inch allowed under Table G-3, which allows space for a finger to be placed into the danger zone from above the barrier guard. Employee #1 operate d the pneumatic grommet machine for approximately 1-2 hours. The machine appeare d to malfunction, so a supervisor disconnected the air hose and reconnected it, which appeared to solve the problem. While placing a washer on the lower die, t he top die came down, severing the tip (soft tissue only) of her right index fin ger. She did not recall if she accidently stepped on the foot pedal or if the di e came down on its own. Employee #1 suffered a finger laceration when the gromme t machine's upper die came down onto her right index finger. She was transported , treated and released at a nearby hospital.