Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1468049.015 - Wisconsin Truss, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Eau Claire Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:30 p.m. on March 3, 2020, an employee working as a machine operator for a truss manufacturer was placing metal plates into a RolSplicer Model R.S. 230V truss machine. The RolSplicer is utilized to splice two pieces of wood stock together from end to end which makes a longer piece of stock for building the truss. Two coworkers were feeding stock into the machine to make a splice while the employee was placing the plates. Coworker #1 stood on the right end-feed of the table and Coworker #2 stood on the left in-feed of the table. The employee stood in the middle and lined up the two ends. After lining up the two ends of the stock, the employee then inserted two metal plates into the machine which were used to clamp the two ends of the stock together. Before the employee could remove her hands from the machine, it cycled causing the lumber hold down lid to close. The employee pinched her left hand between the metal rollers of the splicer and a piece of lumber. The employee crushed her thumb and middle finger and partially amputated her index finger, requiring hospitalization.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Caught Between, Contusion, Crushed, Finger, Hand, Instantaneous amputation, Lathe, Lumber, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Pinch Point, Pinched, Puncture, Puncture Wound, Steel Plate, Thumb, Traumatic Amputation, Truss, Truss table