Abstract: At approximately 4:25 p.m. on February 4, 1988, Employee #1, a press operator in Department 7 of Randall Manufacturing, a division of Textron, Inc., with only 40 days experience in manufacturing as a press operator, was operating a Federal 80-ton part-revolution mechanical power press for the first time. The Posson's pull-out device had a fracture of the right nylon cable clamp on the clip assembly due to metal fatigue. Employee #1 inadvertently activated a press cycle with the foot treadle while retrieving with her right hand a finished part from the lower die. Her left hand was pulled back, but the pull-out wristlet and cable on her right hand failed to function. She sustained an amputation of 3/8 in. of the first joint of her right index finger. Only the manual reaction of Employee #1 to yank her right hand back on her own averted a much more serious amputation. Both pull-out devices of both hands had been functioning properly before the accident. A combination of operator inexperience and mechanical failure of the safety pull-out system caused the accident.