Abstract: At approximately 8:30 a.m. on March 2, 2007, Employee #1 was working for a boring contractor on a 75 ft run of 54-in. RCP as part of a storm drain improvement. The tunneling method was hand mining through a jacked open shield with muck removal by an in-line, double drum slusher. The jacking rams were being retracted to position for another joint of RCP. Since the slusher is attached to the jacking frame it is necessary to unwind rope from the slusher take-up drum as the rams retract. During the retraction the rope jammed. Employee #1 moved to the front of the slusher and noticed that the rope had jumped to the adjacent drum. This custom built slusher did not have any guarding to prevent rope jumping from one drum to another. While grasping the rope with his gloved right hand, he pushed the drum take-up lever in the direction he used from the operator position to release rope before realizing that he was actually winding rope. He quickly released the lever but not before his hand was pulled in between the rope and spool crushing his right index finger. Employee #1 was hospitalized with an amputation of his right finger.