Abstract: At 7:45 p.m. on January 7, 2005, Employee #1 was working as a mill operator for Day Glo Manufacturing in Cudahy, CA. The company manufactured industrial paints and dispersions. At the time of the incident, the employee was adjusting the color of a batch of paint in the production area by mixing the paint using a Mooney industrial paint mixing machine. This machine was an electrically driven mixer with a hydraulic ram that controlled upward and downward motion of the mixing drive shaft and attached mixing blades. With the aid of a coworker, Employee #1 placed a vat with the paint to be adjusted under the mixing blades of the mixing machine. Since the particular vat being used was higher than others, the machine's mixing blades would scrape on the bottom of the vat if the shaft was lowered completely. To avoid this problem, Employee #1 placed a small piece of steel measuring 3 in. long by 1.5 in. wide by 0.25 in. thick so that its width was along the hydraulic cylinder between the cylinder collar and mixing head of the machine. While holding the piece in place with his right hand, Employee #1 lowered the mixing head using the control lever with his left. When the machine head came down, his finger was caught between the top of the piece of steel and the mixing head of the machine. Employee #1 suffered an amputated finger. The hydraulic ram collar area of the machine was not guarded, creating a pinch point.