Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 141148.015 - Worker loses finger while working on energized machinery
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
1563894.015 | 11/18/2021 | 321911 | Masonite Corporation |
Abstract: At 11:00 a.m. on November 12, 2021, an employee was working for a firm that manufactured windows and doors. He was the production lead, and he operated a fabricating machine. He was assisting a shift supervisor. The shift supervisor was performing maintenance on a picker bin infeed conveyor system auger drive belt. The machinery had clogged. The shift supervisor had removed the guard for the drive belt. As the guard had a solid metal face, the rotation of the drive mechanism could be viewed only through the gap between the motor and guard. With the guard removed, the shift supervisor and the employee could see if the belt driven auger had stopped moving. The employee was working at the backside of the equipment. He had to pass between the unprotected drive pulleys of the auger conveyor to access the service disconnect for the drive motor. The distance he and the supervisor were passing through between the safety rail for the work platform to the pulleys' drive mechanism was approximately 15 inches (380 mm). With the equipment not locked out and still energized, the employee opened the access cover. He was clearing material from between the airlock and the auger conveyor. He was removing the material by hand and by poking at the material with a tool. The shift supervisor was jogging the auger on and off. He stated that he was unaware that the guard had been removed or that the access door was open. He added that he knew that the process to remove the packed in material was to open the access cover and pull material out. He knew that the employee had tools that he was using to stick into the opening and push material down. The employee was reaching in with a tool to push material down. The middle finger on his right hand became caught in the drive belt. His finger was amputated. He was treated without hospitalization.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1563894.015 | 43 | M | Non Hospitalized injury | Fabricating machine operators, n.e.c. |