Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126082155 - Api Kirk Containers

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 4:00 p.m. on August 9, 2005, Employee #1 a plant manager, was working for an employer that was manufactured plastic containers. The company's main operations included injection molding, hot stamping, handle assembly and packaging. Employee #1 had been working for the company for 4 years. At the time of accident, Employee #1 was working on a blow-molding machine located at the end of the production area. He was walking down to his office on the other side of the plant to grab a tool when the lead mechanic stopped him and asked him to help change the hot stamping machine from the 5-gallon setup to the 20-liter setup orientation. When Employee #1 arrived at the hot stamping machine, it was not in operation, so he pushed the stop button as a precaution and opened the interlocked door of the hot stamping machine. Employee #1 pressed the photo sensor button inside the machine for a few seconds to put the sensor on the learning mode. He closed the door of the hot stamp machine and started up the injection molding machine. When he started the injection molding machine, the first few pails were defective and he took them off the conveyor belt leading to the hot stamping machine. When a good pail came out, Employee #1 pressed the reset and start button on the hot stamp machine and the pail went through and ascended to its rotating position. The pail began to rotate until it timed out. Employee #1 pushed the stop button and opened the door. He started rotating the pail by hand to position it to its new orientation. As he was rotating the pail to find the lobe of the pail, unexpectedly the hot stamp closed on his left hand and caused severe burn and crushing of his left hand. Employee #1 pushed the emergency stop button to release his hand. The operating pressure of hot stamp machine was about 2.5 tons and operating temperature was approximately 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Employee #1 suffered third degree burns to the bone on index, middle, and ring fingers of his left hand. Employee #1 was taken to the hospital and treated for his injuries. The accident was caused because Employee #1 did not deenergize the power source of the hot stamping machine and the movable parts were not blocked or locked out to prevent inadvertent movements.

Keywords: BURN, BANDSAW, MOLDING MACHINE, WORK RULES, MACHINE OPERATOR, LOCKOUT, CRUSHED, PLASTIC MFG, CONVEYOR BELT, HAND