Abstract: On September 7, 2002, an employee was operating a Palmer high-speed mixer and molding machine, model M500XL. He was then told to turn the machine off and clean it. He turned the machine off and reached into the sand molding machine when his left hand struck the rotating blade. His middle finger was amputated at the first knuckle. The employer did not have a functioning lockout program. The employee and coworkers had not been trained to de-energize the equipment before cleaning, and they were not provided with either locks or extension tools. The employee did not check to see that the blade had completely stopped and that the machine was de-energized.