Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1497715.015 - Jfm International, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Houston North Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 11:30 a.m. on October 9, 2020, an employee was working at a firm that made wood cable reels. The employee was an assistant machine operator in training. She was in the north area of the facility, in the wood reels fabrication area. There was a new automatic CNC machine there, a Naliteck model NL 60/125 automated machining center for flanges, with no serial number identified. It had been installed in January 2020. The machining center ran on electricity. It operated on voltages from 220 to 480 volts. For the machine to operate on a continuous basis, employees had to clean up the pieces of wood cut during reel fabrication. The cleaning occurred in station 3, where the machining of flange and chamfering was done. This was a core activity involving a drill bit that cut the external borders of the reels. The drill bit was not guarded. The employee was watching the machine to verify that it was working properly. Without stopping the machine, she was removing pieces of wood from the drill bit with her gloved right hand. Her hand was caught by the drill bit. It was entangled and pulled in. The employee was hospitalized. The wound proved so severe that her fingertip was surgically amputated. Although there were two other employees with her, neither of them witnessed the incident. According to employees, the cleaning occurred approximately twice per day or more times, depending on whether there was a problem with the fabrication process. Whenever the employees were cleaning the area, they were supposed to turn off the machine and use a 6-in. (150-mm) stick to remove the pieces of wood. From the employees' statements, it was a common practice to clean the area of the drill bit located in station 3 without stopping the machine. The employer did not have a written procedure for the cleaning procedure. The operations manager stated that the Naliteck machine was installed brand new in January 2020 and that the drill bit area never had guards. The firm had been previously cited.

Keywords: Amputated, CNC Milling Machines, CNC Routing Machines, Caught By, Cleaning, Drill, Drill Bit, Entangled, Finger, Fingertip, Glove, Hand, Inexperience, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine Guarding, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Pulled In, Push Stick, Rotating Drill Bit, Rotating Parts, Surgical Amputation, Unguarded, Wood Shaper, Wood Shavings