Abstract: At approximately 7:00 a.m. on May 2, 2000, Employee #1 and a coworker were operating a Columbia block making machine, model 16-HF, at Paragon Building Products. Employee #1 noticed that the empty, 18 in. by 26 in. by 3/8 in. steel plate pallets were not stacking properly in the pallet box. He turned off the machine, opened the yellow gate, and began unstacking the approximately 45 lb pounds by hand. He had removed six pallets and was reaching to pick up the last one when the pallet moved and his gloved left index finger became caught between it and the edge of the pallet box, amputating the tip. Employee #1 later stated that he did not know what had happened or who had turned on the machine. The coworker stated that a pallet had become stuck in the feeder and that he had gone to the other side of the mixer to move the pallet feeder by manually moving a cylinder. Before doing this, he had told Employee #1 to be careful, but he apparently could not hear the warning. Another coworker transported Employee #1 to U.S. Healthwork Clinic, and he was later taken to Mountain View Surgery Center by his daughter-in-law, who also worked at the facility. The employer was cited for a general violation of T8CCR 3314(a).