Abstract: At approximately 9:45 a.m. on October 31, 1994, Employee #1, of R. Howard Strasbaugh, Inc. in San Luis Obispo, CA, was alone, testing a circular robot machine. He had done this many times before; however, this time he forgot to de-energize the machine. When he put his left hand on a wheel to adjust the belt, the machine started and caught his thumb between the wheel spoke and the hard stop for the wheel. The thumb was not amputated, but tendons were cut. Employee #1 was taken to French Hospital, where he stayed for two days. Due to lack of employer knowledge, a general citation for failing to de-energize the machine was issued instead of a serious one.