Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125409524 - Waterloo Aluminum Foundry, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Indiana Department Of Labor

Investigation Summary

At 4:20 p.m. on or about April 22, 1998, Employee #1 was cleaning the 12 in. long by 20 in. wide tail pulley roll of the sand return conveyor belt while the belt was running. He was working at the shaker table next to the conveyor, removing cast aluminum parts from sand cores when he apparently became caught and was pulled through the roll/conveyor nip point at the bottom. He died of massive head and body trauma. Employee #1,a native of Mexico who spoke only Spanish, had been instructed earlier in the day by an English speaking coworker how to use a 5 in. hand scraper to clean the moving belt and roll. Just before the accident, the coworker was using a Bobcat to move sand from other areas to the conveyor belt and saw the belt shift due to accumulating sand. He shouted at Employee #1, pointed to the belt, and drove off. When the coworker returned several minutes later, he found Employee #1 on the floor with his lower body still in the conveyor. There were no witnesses to the accident. At the time of his death, Employee #1 had just over two days of work experience.

Keywords: CLEANING, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CONVEYOR, NIP POINT, CONVEYOR BELT, UNTRAINED, COMMUNICATION