Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120201751 - Refinery Mobile Division Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:57 a.m. on November 2, 2006, a Mobile Refinery worker was employed in Rocklin, California. The worker's job was to crush large truck oil filters. Mobile company officials did not know that he was also salvaging the heavy aluminum plate on the top end of the filters. This required the worker to defeat the guard of the compactor by holding down the limit switch with his right hand, and operating the ram using his left hand to hold the filter in place in order to squeeze out the aluminum top plate for salvage. He was seriously injured when his left hand became caught in the oil- filter crushing machine. When the accident happened, the filter body wrapped around the ram, and when the ram retracted to the neutral position, the employee's left hand became entangled with the metal of the filter. It was pulled to the top of the cycle with the retracting ram crushing his left index finger, which later had to be amputated During an investigation it was established that the supervisory personnel had no knowledge that the employee was salvaging the plates on the end of the filters. The employee was properly trained and the employer did not have knowledge that the employee was defeating the machine's protective devices.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, WORK RULES, CAUGHT BY, CRUSHED, CRUSHER, STRUCK BY, ENTANGLED, HAND, REFINERY