Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1495515.015 - Dresser-Rand Company

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:00 a.m. on September 10, 2020, an employee was preparing to build a three-part piston and was lifting an in-board piston from a pallet to his worktable, using an overhead bridge crane and a vinyl or nylon strap for rigging. The employee said he had chosen the correct strap and that he had given the strap a visual inspection and did not see anything that would cause the strap to fail. The employee said he placed the strap through the hole of the piston in a basket configuration and had used softeners at the corners, as was standard practice. The softeners were made of older straps that were cut into pieces. The crane moved the piece about 25 feet, and the employee stopped it when it was approximately 2-3 feet above the worktable. The employee turned to get his paperwork with his right hand, and his left hand was resting on the worktable. The strap gave way, and the piston part fell and hit the employee's left hand. The employee suffered an amputation of the tip of his left pinky finger and a fracture to his left ring finger. The employee was hospitalized. The cause of the failure of the rigging strap was unable to be determined from the information available, so there was no accident-related violation issued.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Crushed, Falling Object, Finger, Fingertip, Fracture, Lifting, Manufacturing, Overhead Crane, Pallet, Piston, Rigging, Strap