Abstract: At 8:00 a.m. on August 16, 2002, Employee #1, a plant engineer at Aramark, was in the maintenance shop, performing a routine calibrating procedure which required using a 0.375 in. thick piece of high-density rubber as a gauge to calibrate the gap between the upper seal bar and the bottom seal bar of a microswitch. After he adjusted the microswitch, the upper seal bar did not swing back when it closed at the 0.375 in. clearance, so he had to adjust the air pressure to get the sealing bar to open at 3/8 in. Employee #1 was leaning over to read the pressure gauge, using his right hand to fine-tune the seal pressure regulator switch, when he accidentally stepped on the foot pedal. This activated the upper sealing arm, crushing his right little finger and partially amputating the tip. Employee #1 failed to use an appropriate extension tool during the adjustment, which would have kept his hand a safe distance from the moving parts. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 had two years of experience with Aramark, a company that washed garments in soap and deionized water and dried them for the biotech, pharmaceutical, and semielectronics industries. He also had 10 years of experience in this industry with other companies. His work at Aramark included operating boilers and water systems, and maintaining the entire facility and equipment, such as moving equipment, installing new equipment, painting, and general maintenance.