Inspection Detail

Inspection: 123301111 - Elm City Pattern & Foundry Works Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Bridgeport Area Office

Investigation Summary

On May 18, 1999, Employee #1, a grinding room laborer, was removing aluminum castings from the molds. The casts were removed from the molds by dumping the molds onto a vibrating sand screening machine. During the operation of this machine, a catch bin was installed between the second conveyor and the sand hopper, which had to be cleaned out periodically during the casting removal process. After the sand was dropped and carried on the first conveyor, it was dropped onto a second conveyor, which had a belt with 0.625-in. teeth. The teeth were installed on the belt in order to assist in throwing the sand into the hopper, where the sand was then reused for later molds. The second conveyor was 2 ft 5 in. long when measured from the center of a 6-in. in diameter roller to the center of the second 6-in. diameter roller. The belt was 24 in. wide and was inclined at an angle of 47 degrees. The center of the first roller was 29.5 in. above the floor and the center of the second roller was 50 in. above the floor. The sand was then thrown from that conveyor into the hopper. The area between the second conveyor and the hopper was covered with a catch bin, which was 26 in. wide and 18.5 in. long. When the catch bin had too much sand in it the conveyor started to take it back on the return of the conveyor. Instead of allowing the sand to be dropped on the floor, Employee #1 began cleaning the catch bin using his hand. Employee #1 did not shut the machine off when he was reaching into the catch bin with his hand facing down, scooping the sand, and throwing it into the hopper. Employee #1 had a glove on his hand when the teeth of the conveyor tugged at his glove and then pulled his hand into the area between the underside or return side of the conveyor and the frame of the second conveyor. Employee #1 sustained partial amputation of his four main fingers. He pulled his hand out of the machine after trying to pull it out for about 15 sec. Employee #1 was then taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Employee #1 had been working for Elm City Pattern and Foundry Works Inc. for more than a month. The day of the accident was his third day of working in the casting room.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, SAND, BELT, FINGER, CASTING, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CONVEYOR, GRINDING MACHINE, MOLD, HOPPER