Abstract: At 2:30 p.m. on March 30, 2021, an employee was working on the rubber cutting line, removing and weighing rubber pieces after he exited the rubber strip cutting machine. Some of the cut rubber pieces were sticking to the blade or not falling to the bottom of the exit chute, so the employee would reach in under the guard to retrieve the rubber to weigh and rack. The employee had retrieved two pieces of rubber with no issue, and then, when he went to grab the third piece, the blade came down on his right index finger, amputating the whole finger. The employee was hospitalized. At the time of the accident, the cutting machine did have a clear plastic guard with an interlock to prevent operation if the guard was opened, however there was an opening below the guard approximately 25 inches wide by 11 inches high, which could allow an employee to access the blade area without opening the interlocked guard.