Inspection Detail

Inspection: 112151139 - Alba Industries

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

Between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. on July 11, 1991, Employee #1, a laminating press operator for Alba Industries, was routinely cleaning the glue rollers of a laminating press. Following the daily procedure, Employee #1 washed down the rollers with a hose so the glue wouldn't harden. He held the hose in one hand, while scraping the glue off the rollers with a 10 in. to 12 in. long wire brush held with the other hand. The press was left on so the rollers would turn during cleaning. On this day, the feed opening between the roller was 1 in. to 1 1/8 in. Employee #1 was wearing a glove on the hand with which he was holding the wire brush. While he was cleaning the roller, his glove became caught between the rollers and his hand/arm was pulled into the machine. Employee #1 said he tried to stop the machine by tripping an emergency wire that was within reach of his other hand, but the switch did not work. Employee #1 suffered a fractured arm and was hospitalized for one week. There was no effective lockout or other blocking method used during this cleaning operation. In addition, there was not an effective stop device within Employee #1's reach.

Keywords: FRACTURE, GLOVE, WORK RULES, CLEANING, EMERGENCY STOP, LOCKOUT, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CAUGHT BETWEEN, ARM, MECH MALFUNCTION