Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126199397 - Clougherty Packing Llc Dba Farmer John

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At 4:00 a.m. on April 26, 2010, Employee #1, a maintenance mechanic, was working for an employer that specialized in processing and packaging of pork products. He began his shift by inspecting the machineries in the raw meat section, which needed to be done before the production shift began work at 5:30 a.m. During this regularly scheduled check, Employee #1 received a trouble call, having to with a chain malfunction on a wiener launcher machine. Employee #1 gave instructions for his coworkers to continue the inspections, while he investigated the problem at the wiener launcher machine. He locked out the machine and then repaired a cotter pin. Once the repair was complete Employee #1 reenergized the machine and crawled under the interlocked gate to verify that everything was working properly. He got on his knees to check the sprockets, chains, and gears on the launcher. As he attempted to exit from under the machine and grab onto a hand hold to stand up, he instead grabbed a hold of a moving chain. Employee #1 felt a pinch on his right index finger. When this occurred, he looked down and saw that the tip of his right index finger was on the floor. He notified the maintenance shop and emergency services were called. Employee #1 was taken to LA County USC Medical Center, where he was treated for the partial amputation of his right index finger. The incident investigation found that the interlocked gate around the wiener launcher was working properly. However, when Employee #1 attempted to grab the machine's hand hold, his right index finger crossed into the guarded area, allowing his hand to come into contact with the moving chain.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, GUARD, PINNED, MECHANIC, CAUGHT BY, CAUGHT BETWEEN, INATTENTION