UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 12:30 a.m. on February 4, 2022, an employee was feeding two 2 by 3 wood scrap boards approximately 3 feet to 5 feet in length, side-by-side into the infeed o f the Alpine Linear Saw. The saw was set for a 2 by 10 piece of wood. It was tow ard the end of the shift, and the employee was in the process of cleaning up the work area by feeding scrap boards, referred to as "drop" through the enclosed A lpine Linear Saw Model 276 (230VAC/60HZ/3PH/100A, 100PSI, 20-inch/100-tooth blad e w/7.5HP motor, mfg. 2014) located in the saw room SW. The employee was cutting 2 by 3 scrap between 3 feet to 5 feet long down to 1-foot pieces. The saw was s et for a 2 by 10 board, so that two 2 by 3 boards could be placed side by side o n the roller table entering the saw infeed. The employee's hand was on top of th e two boards to feed them in the direction of the saw infeed. When the boards wo uld reach a photo eye sensor just before the infeed, a roller(s) on the front si de presses the board against a roller(s) on the back side, using pneumatic actio n clamps, which holds the board in place while it is fed through the saw. Since the employee was feeding two boards side-by-side, the two boards were pressed to gether during this process. The bottom tip of the right index finger got crushed between the boards as the boards pressed together. The employee went to the sup ervisor, who wrapped the hand and transported the employee to the ER at Mercy Me dical Center in Dubuque, IA which is approximately 15-20 minutes away. The emplo yee was treated, completed pre-operation paperwork, and released. The employee r eturned on February 8, 2022 for outpatient surgery, and the right index finger w as amputated down to the first knuckle. The amputation was the result of a pinch -point created by feeding two boards side-by-side into the saw infeed.