Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1491498.015 - Apex Tool Group, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Harrisburg Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:00 p.m. on August 31, 2020, an employee was working as a machine operator for a firm that manufactured metal products. Her facility made metal chains and fittings for lifting. The incident happened on the facility's Allen model number 3 variable speed multi-spindle drill press, with employer's machine number F43417. At the site, it was referred to as the large Allen drill. It came to the site in 2015. The employer used the large Allen drill to drill, ream, tap, and bore holes in cast and forged metal components. The drill originally had four spindles, but due to the increased difficulty of finding parts, the employer had removed a spindle. Each spindle had a three-sided Plexiglas shield on an adjustable arm for positioning in front of the operating drill. These shields were easily moved and did not have an interlock that would stop spindle rotation when the shield was positioned away from the point of operation or other moving parts. The employee was setting up the drill's far-left spindle to run a job. As she was adjusting its speed, a strand of her hair became caught and entangled at the top of the rotating shaft. Her shirt also became entangled, and the machine picked her up off the floor. She couldn't reach the ON/OFF button. Eventually she got free, possibly when the tapered drill bit came out. She suffered a traumatic scalping injury, from just above her eyes to the back of her head. She lost her right ear, except for the ear lobe, and a chunk was taken out of her left ear. The small finger on her left hand was fractured and lacerated. She suffered lacerations to her stomach and torso areas. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she underwent surgery to reattach her scalp. The surgery did not take, so she had to undergo debridement and have skin grafted from her thighs to her head. By late 2020, she had had seven surgeries and continued hyperbaric treatments. She faced further plastic surgeries. Her small finger also required surgery.

Keywords: Caught In, Clothing, Drill Press, Ear, Finger, Fracture, Hair, Head, Laceration, Machine operator, Machinist, Metal Shop, Rotating Parts, Rotating Shaft, Scalp, Skin, Stomach, Torso