Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1359470.015 - Drilling Dynamics Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Bridgeport Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:00 p.m. on October 26, 2018, an employee was working for a firm that drilled holes in stock material for various industries. He was operating an Entrust deep hole horizontal gun drilling machine. He had set the stock material in place in a chuck. He was holding the stock, when he pressed the black button for the drill's tail stop to set the stock. He engaged the machine before letting go of the material. The only part of the machine that moved prior to drilling was the tail stop, to secure the opposite end of the stock. The employee's finger was in the way while the tail stop moved into place. The employee suffered the amputation of his middle finger. He was sent to the Milford hospital, but the narrative did not say whether he was hospitalized. During interviews with workers, the workers described the process of setting up and holding the material in place and securing it in place with a key. Once the material was in place, the worker stepped away from the machine and pressed the black button to engage the tail stop to contact the end of the material to be drilled. There were no two-hand controls to engage the black button. This is how one hand could be on the material in the machine and one hand available to hit the black button. There was no guard in place to prevent the workers from having their hands in the danger zone or point of operation.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Finger, Hand Control, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Machinist, PPE, Point Of Operation, Unguarded