Inspection Detail

Inspection: 111897815 - Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

Inspection Information - Office: Redding District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 4:20 p.m. on March 12, 1991, Employee #1, a sawmill edger operator, was attempting to clear two boards jammed on the outfeed of the quad saw. The sawyer had stopped the belts and Employee #1 had unjammed the smaller board. He signaled for the sawyer to start the belts, thinking that the larger board would unjam when the belt began to move. But the larger board did not unjam, so Employee #1 attempted to clear it using a 7 ft long, 1 1/4 in. diameter pipe as a pry bar. As he pried up on the board, it quickly rotated, and along with the movement of the belt, caused the pry bar handle to strike his jaw. Employee #1 was given emergency treatment by local fire agencies and admitted to Oroville Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for a fractured jaw. Employee #1 later stated that he should have stopped the belt and should not have held the bar on his left side.

Keywords: FRACTURE, WORK RULES, JAMMED, LOCKOUT, SAWMILL, STRUCK BY, HAND TOOL, CONVEYOR BELT, FACE, PRY BAR