Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1444827.015 - Ideal Industries, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Naperville Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:35 a.m. on November 7, 2019, an employee was working with a coworker (trainee) as a machine operator for a wire manufacturer operating a Schafer Megomat Model Primo XLT Wire Processing Machine. The employee had just replaced a spent terminal reel with a new brass terminal reel on a brake flange on a machine. The employee proceeded with production setup tasks to feed the brass terminal strip (carrier strip) into the point of operation. The equipment was energized in the manual mode and the perimeter guard was raised up exposing the employee to the danger zone. The employee cut five terminals off the terminal strip with pliers to guide its tip for feeding by hand into and through the applicator rail and brass chopper chute. A hammer/anvil served as the point of operation. Once he fed the first terminal on the cut strip under the hammer, he pressed the forward button (green light, single push-in button) on the control panel to advance the brass strip for the first crimping cut. At that time, the employee noticed that the brass advancement was not moving the strip all the way into position and the crimper was not knocking wires out as intended. The employee did not have a pick (hand tool) available, so he decided to remove each processed piece with his right hand to keep advancing the strip. About five pieces were processed before his hand made contact with the hammer/anvil. The employee reflexively removed his finger from the pinch point and upon observation of the injury proceeded to seek first aid. The partially amputated fingertip remained in work area and was recovered by personnel for possible reattachment. The employee was transported to the hospital and required medical treatment without hospitalization. He returned to work that day but was sent home to recover.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Bypass, Bypass Guard, Catch Point, Caught Between, Finger, Fingertip, Hand Tool, Instantaneous amputation, Lack of Engineering Controls, Lack of Work Procedures, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Partial Amputation, Pinch Point, Pinched, Point Of Operation, Puncture, Traumatic Amputation