Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1499733.015 - Growmark Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:00 p.m. on October 19, 2020, an employee working as a feed mill operator for a grain merchant was running corn through a roller mill. The mill was an automatic machine that consisted of three sets of rollers. The employee observed the milled corn and was not satisfied with its grind consistency. The gap between the roller sets produced the desired grain consistency. As the grain fell through the rollers, the rollers would grind the grain. The rollers could be adjusted from the exterior of the milling machine to achieve the desired grind. The employee turned off the machine at the control panel and then proceeded to remove the bottom metal cover once the belts and pulleys had stopped moving. The employee reached into the mill past the second roller set to the bottom rollers in order to check the gap between the set. The bottom rollers were still moving and pulled his right hand into the gap. The employee received medical treatment for four partially amputated fingers but was not hospitalized.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Blind Reaching, Caught Between, Feed Mill, Finger, Grain, Hand, Instantaneous amputation, Lack of Engineering Controls, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine operator, Milling Machine, Milling corn , Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Partial Amputation, Pinch Point, Pinched, Power Roller, Pulled In, Roller--Mach/Part, Safety Device, Traumatic Amputation