Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 200631869 - Employee Is Killed When Struck by Flying Board
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
311679138 | 05/30/2008 | 2421 | 321113 | W.M. Cramer Lumber Company |
Abstract: On May 29, 2008, two regular employees of a saw mill were off work, and the sawmill manager had to move employees around to fill in for them. The sawmill manager placed Employee #1, whose regular job was operating the green chain, on the edger. This was the first time in approximately seven months that Employee #1 had operated the edger. The sawmill manager placed the regular edger operator on the debarker because the regular debarker operator was not at work. The sawmill manager said that he had placed Employee #1 on the edger because Employee #1 was not able to operate the debarker. The sawmill manager had also placed a college student, who worked for the sawmill during the summer and Christmas holidays, on the tail end of the resaw section. This was the college student's first time operating the tail end of the resaw section. However, the sawmill manager said that he trained the college student a short time that morning, before letting him operate the tail end section. Three other employees in the sawmill included resaw, head saw, and trim saw operators. A cant, a large piece of hickory, which was greater than 7 inches thick, left the resaw station. Because the cant was supposed to be less than 7 inches thick before going through the edger, the resaw operator placed the cant on the left-hand side of the resaw. The college student was supposed to have redirected the cant back down the conveyor so that it would have traveled back through the resaw and sawed, until it was no more than 7 inches thick. The college student had not removed the cant, and at approximately 10:45 a.m., the cant was accidentally placed on the transfer chains, the top of the conveyor leading to the edger. Once the cant was placed on the edger, it caused the edger to jam. Immediately after the edger was jammed, Employee #1 left the edger and went looking for the sawmill manager to help him unjam the cant. Once the sawmill manager came to the edger, he went to the back side of the edger, and the first thing he observed was a small hickory board that had already been edged, located on the transfer chains. The sawmill manager immediately took the board from the pile and placed it on the back conveyor section of the edger. Because this board had already been edged, the college student should have let the board continue down from the resaw section and onto to the trim saw that was being operated by the trim saw operator, apparently in an area outside the sawmill. The sawmill manager tried to unjam the edger by lifting and lowering the fingers to the edger. Employee #1, who was directly in front of the edger, placed the edger into reverse, in an attempt to unjam the cant. Employee #1 then pressed the saw buttons. When the saws started rotating, the board that was located on the back end of the edger automatically started traveling through the back section of the edger and over the top of the saw blades. This threw the board through the opening of the fingers and it struck Employee#1 in the forehead. Employee #1 was initially conscious when taken to the hospital but died while being airlifted to another hospital.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
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1 | 311679138 | Fatality | Other | Occupation not reported |