Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1466783.015 - Cream Of The Crop Ag Service, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Bakersfield District Office

Investigation Summary

At 11:45 a.m. on February 7, 2020, an employee, a tractor operator, was using a John Deere tractor with a Pak-Flail KMAI3G920LP mower implement attached to mow grass and weeds between rows in an orchard. As he was mowing, the employee heard a noise coming from the shredder, so he stopped the tractor and went to the shredder while it was energized to try to determine where the noise was coming from. The employee heard the noise coming from inside the guarded belt and pulley on the side of the shredder, so he opened the guard to see if there was something inside the guarded area causing the noise. As the employee bent over to inspect the belt and pulley, his cell phone fell out of the front pocket of his overalls and fell into the belt and pulley area. The employee instinctively reached to try and grab the phone before it fell in. The employee was not able to grab the phone and it was flung after hitting the belt. The employee's hand was pulled into the pinch point of the belt and pulley on the lower pulley. The employee was hospitalized to treat fractures of the first, fourth and fifth distal phalanges.

Keywords: Agriculture, Agriculture Machinery/Vehicle, Attachment, Belt, Caught By, Finger, Fracture, Inspecting, Lawn Mower, Pinch Point, Pulled In, Pulley, Reaching, Tractor, Troubleshooting