Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 125421.015 - Employee crushes hand, fractures wrist when pulled into conv
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
1472515.015 | 04/14/2020 | 112310 | J. S. West Milling Company |
Abstract: At 1:20 p.m. on April 11, 2020, an employee working as a laborer for a chicken egg producer was working in a lay house. The crew was in the process of adjusting the Big Dutchman OptiSec manure drying system dust conveyor belt. The damaged belt had been removed and the crew removed four guards in order to access the damaged belt and install and align the new belt. The employee was laying on his side at the north side head and take up pulley watching and marking the location of the belt on head pulley. He would then tell Coworker #1 whether tracking needed to be adjusted left or right. Coworker #1 was located on the south side at the drive end and sprockets. Coworker #1 was turning a screw whichever direction was necessary to align the belt. Coworker #2 was standing by the electrical panel to stop and start the line or reset the panels via a computer located in a separate room out of view. The crew was communicating via radio. The crew was having problems getting the belt to align properly, which may be because it was a 59-inch wide belt instead of 70-inch wide belt. The employer had them install it temporarily until the correct belt was received. The crew had to make adjustments and move the belt manually several times. Two alerts had gone off and the belt was no longer running. Coworker #2 asked if the belt was running and the employee thought it quit. He said when Coworker #3 (assistant manager) arrives he will turn it off. The employee thought it was broken and used his hand to pull on the belt. As he stood up, he touched the corner of the belt to see where it was. The belt turned on and caught the employee's left-hand middle and index fingers and started pulling his hand into the rollers. The employee screamed and Coworker #2 pushed the emergency stop button. Coworker #3 was called to the site via radio and the machine parts were cut to release the employee. The employee was hospitalized to treat crushed fingers and wrist fractures.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1472515.015 | 39 | M | Hospitalized injury | Laborers, except construction |