Abstract: At about 6:45 a.m. on January 15, 1992, Employee #1 was die casting some samples on the #7 die casting machine. He thought that the funnel into which molten metal is poured by the automatic ladle was clogged. He opened the gate in front of the funnel, which has a limit switch, and proceeded to clean the funnel. While he was cleaning the funnel, the gate closed by itself, activating the automatic ladle. The ladle moved towards the funnel, struck Employee #1's back, and poured the 1,200 degrees F molten metal on his back. Employee #1 was taken to Queen of the Valley Hospital. The disconnecting means in the panel was not locked out in the open position before cleaning the funnel. Employee #1 normally uses the jog ON/OFF switch on the control panel to disconnect power to the ladle, which is not correct as the power to the ladle may still be still on. The employer was cited for a serious violation of 8CCR 3314(a).