Inspection Detail

Note: The following inspection has not been indicated as closed. OSHA citation items will be posted 30 (thirty) days after the employer receives the citation(s), except in cases of significant public interest. Posted citation items reflect any amendments to citations that are the result of a prompt settlement, which OSHA encourages. Employers and employee representatives will continue to receive copies of the citation(s) upon issuance.

Inspection: 1464673.015 - Overhill Farms, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At 4:00 p.m. on February 13, 2020, an employee was working as a food batchmaker for a company that processes raw chicken by marinating, battering, and deep-frying pieces of chicken for restaurants. The employee was the lead on the line in Plant 2, packing conveyor 1. On this conveyor, employees take the chicken pieces from the fryer where it is carried by conveyors to the packing line. On the packing line, employees pack the chicken pieces into plastic bags. The employee started his shift at 3:15 p.m. and at about 3:50 p.m. he went to clear chicken debris out of the conveyor where it drops chicken pieces onto another conveyor, which takes them to the spiral freezer. The employee said he had been shown how to do this task years ago, and as was his custom. The supervisor was not in the area at the time and the employee was in charge of monitoring coworkers on the line. The employee was wearing gloves, a robe, earplugs, rubber boots, and a hairnet. He said he noticed the line was moving faster than usual, and that he never touched the speed control switch for the conveyor. He checked the belts, lifted the loose unsecured safety guard over the end of the conveyor pulley and reached with his gloved right hand to clear chicken debris out of the conveyor. The conveyor was still running, and the employee said he had never been told to stop the belts when clearing debris from the conveyor. The employee's right pinky finger was pulled into the area between the conveyor belt and a plastic tray on the other conveyor. He was admitted to a local hospital to treat a laceration. The employee said he lost some bone on his right pinky finger, but the medical report stated that the physician could not establish that he suffered loss of length of the digit, or loss of bone, but only loss of soft tissue. They could not rule out the possibility that a tiny piece of bone had been lost from the fingertip. But they did not classify the injury as an amputation.

Keywords: Bypass, Bypass Guard, Caught Between, Conveyor, Finger, Fingertip, Food processing, Laceration, Lack of Work Procedures, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Pinch Point, Pinched, Pulled In, Safety Device