Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1239541.015 - Smurfit Kappa

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At 3:45 a.m. on May 25, 2017, an employee started the ITOH Ream Cutter to score cardboard. The employee placed cardboard on the horizontal feeder surface of the machine and moved the edge opposite from where they were standing towards the machine's points of operation of the clamp and guillotine blade. Once the cardboard was in position under the clamp, the employee depressed the foot pedal to engage the mechanism and it moved in a downward motion, clamping the cardboard piece between it and the horizontal feed surface. The employee then took the corner of the piece of cardboard opposite the area that was clamped and pushed it upward and towards the clamp point which then created a score/bend in the cardboard at the clamp point. The employee used their hands to bend the cardboard flush to the clamp bar, which was engaged. As the employee disengaged the foot pedal that operated the clamp bar, the employee's left hand slipped off the edge of the cardboard box and moved towards a gap in the top of the clamp bar and the static guillotine blade. As the clamp bar returned to a static position by moving upward, the employee's left hand fingertips were pinched in the gap. The employee sustained a partial amputation of four fingers.

Keywords: Machine Guarding