Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1450795.015 - Treehouse Private Brands, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Buffalo Area Office

Investigation Summary

On December 10, 2019, an employee was working as a machine operator for a firm that made cookies and crackers. The UPA said that he was changing an imprint film on a dough machine. As he closed the access door to the machine, the tip of the small finger on his right hand was caught and pinched between the door and the machine. The fingertip was amputated. It fell down inside the machine onto a ledge. The employee was treated without hospitalization. Elsewhere it was said that the employee was closing a machine guard, and that his finger was pinched between the guard and the machine. The guards on the machine came in for discussion. The Plexiglas or similar acrylic glass guards on this and other dough machines were not affixed to the machine or secured in some other fashion when attachment to the machine was not possible. The guards were just hung on hooks and not secured to the machine. They did not prevent exposure to the ingoing nip points created by the dough machine rolls or rollers. Further, the company's procedure was to shut off, but not lock out, the dough machine while workers cleaned the dough machines. Recently, one employee, trained only to the level of an affected employee, was injured while cleaning the dough machine rolls or rollers. He did not shut off the machine before cleaning the rolls. The machine was running. The employee's finger got caught in the in-running nip point between the pressure roller and the die roll. His fingertip was amputated. Later, the employer secured the guards to the dough machines with a hasp and lock. Only the production and maintenance managers have keys to the lock.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Bypass Guard, Cleaning, Fingertip, Food processing, Instantaneous amputation, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Pinch Point, Pinched, Roller--Mach/Part, Traumatic Amputation, Unguarded