Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120259254 - California Institute Of Technology

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on December 17, 1999, Employee #1 lost his ring finger on his right hand when his glove became caught in the moving parts of a crane loadline. The incident occurred at a central plant on the campus of California Institute of Technology, located in Pasadena, California. His employer reported the incident to the Division on December 17, 1999. An accident investigation began on January 3, 2000. His employer is an educational institution. At the time of the incident, Employee #1 and other crew members were removing a turbine using a mobile crane. The Model Number was 145A. The Serial Number was 44160. The License Number was 1DGL218. The crane weighed approximately 14.5 tons. The turbine weighed approximately 3,000 pounds. Employee #1 was assisting others with the removal of turbine. The turbine was lifted through a roof opening. Employee #1 was directing the load through the opening and passing the hand signals to the signalman. The signalman was passing the signals to the crane operator. It was a blind pick for the crane operator. As the load (turbine) was coming up through the opening, Employee #1 was holding the loadline (two-part loadline) just above the hook and headache ball. The load was half way through the roof opening when Employee #1 turned his back from the loadline and passed the signal to the signalman. The glove on his right hand became caught in the moving parts of the skookum resulting in an amputation of his ring finger. When interviewed, Employee #1 and the signalman stated that no specific instructions were given to all employees about the new kind of two-part loadline used for the crane operation. Furthermore, the employees have never used that kind of rigging arrangement before. Employee #1 went to a local hospital for treatment.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, GLOVE, LOAD LINE, CRANE