Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1289026.015 - Employee Bridge

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:55 p.m. (according to the narrative) on November 8, 12017, an employee was working for a temporary staffing agency. The temporary staffing agency was the employee's primary employer. It had sent him to work at a food packing warehouse. The secondary employer was a national membership wholesaler and retailer of groceries and other household and office supplies. Foods such as nuts and trail mixes were packaged at the facility and transported to the national chain's stores. A supervisor for the secondary employer was the second shift supervisor. The employee was cleaning around a bucket elevator machine at the facility's Line Area 1. The bucket elevator was an RBM Model Number LH-SW-S-18 Conveyor System, with Serial Number 11-J134-113. The employee was cleaning the frame and the chain of the bucket elevator. As he was cleaning, the chain on the machine became energized. With his left hand, he accidentally reached into the nip point area of the chain and sprocket near the floor. His hand went into the point where the chain and sprocket met. The small finger and the middle finger on his left hand were amputated. The amputation of his small finger was accompanied by bone loss. The employee received medical attention and treatment at the UC San Diego Medical Center, in San Diego, CA. He was treated in the Emergency Room for under 24 hours and he was hospitalized.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Chain, Cleaning, Conveyor, Elevator, Finger, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine Guarding, Nip Point, Sprocket, Warehouse