Inspection Detail

Inspection: 123901217 - United Parcel Service

Inspection Information - Office: Santa Ana District Office

Investigation Summary

On February 20, 2006, Employee #1, with United Parcel Service, was handling irregular packages (those the automated system is unable to sort). This process required him to transfer these packages from a conveyor belt at the floor level to another conveyor about 7 ft above the floor. These two conveyor lines crossed each other at a 90-degree angle. The top conveyor had two guard cables at 12 in. and 34 in. above the conveyor belt level to keep packages from falling. Employee #1 was standing on the lower conveyor belt (which was shut off at the time), manually transferring packages from the lower belt to the top belt by pushing the packages through the guard cables on the top conveyor. The lower conveyor had a hinged stop bar, which could be flipped down on the belt to stop the moving packages. At the time of this accident, this hinged stop bar was not being used and was in the vertical position on the left side of Employee #1. While he was transferring a plastic suitcase through the guard cables of the top conveyor, the suitcase fell back and his right middle finger was pinched between the suitcase and the stop bar. Employee #1 was treated at a hospital for a partial amputation.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, STOP SWITCH, FINGER, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CONVEYOR, MANUAL MAT HANDLING, NIP POINT