Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120226741 - Carlisle Tire And Wheel Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

On September 12, 2003, an employee was working in the elevator portion of the flare machine where rolled feed stock was fed into the machine for providing flares at the two ends of the stock. This was a very old machine made by Watanabe Iron Works, no model or serial numbers were available. The machine drawing indicated a number- G 381. The machine operator normally stood at the discharge end of the machine where the semi processed stocks discharged from the machine. Normally his job was to inspect the semi finished discharged part and to tend to jamming of part if there be any. At the inlet end of the machine there was an elevator which lifted and fed the hoop, which was about 14-in. in diameter and 10-in. wide. The thickness of the stock was 0.138-in. to 0.160-in. The elevator movement came from a motor and transmission of power from the motor was through a combination of worm gear and V belt/pulley drive. The driving/driven pulley diameters were 9-in. and 15-in., respectively. The center distance of the two pulleys was two feet. At one stage of the employee's duty, he stepped aside from his workstation and came near the elevator of the flare machine. As the employee was standing next to the pulleys/V belt drive, he lost balance while performing other operations. To prevent his fall he caught on the V belt in motion, with the glove in his right hand. The V belt/pulley drive which was within 7-ft from the floor level was not guarded. Next moment he sustained serious right hand injury at the nip point between the belt and pulley. The injury included amputation of right middle finger and fracture of right ring finger. The employee was first treated in the US Health Works and then in the Western Hand Center.

Keywords: FRACTURE, AMPUTATED, BELT, FINGER, MACHINE OPERATOR, CAUGHT BY, PULLEY, LOST BALANCE