Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1504758.015 - Amcor Flexibles North America, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Toledo Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:00 a.m. on November 24, 2020, during a production run, the die plate on the Lyle Trim Press became dull and required peening. An employee locked out the press before entering the machine to perform maintenance. After peening the die plate, the employee utilized a bar designed to manually roll the flywheel to rotate the die and break the peened material from the die plate. During this task, the employee experienced less resistance than expected, which caused the bar to slip out of the flywheel. As a result, the employee lost his balance and instinctively used his right hand to catch himself. Unfortunately, his right thumb came into contact with the pinch point of the vertical belt and pulley, which was in motion due to the manual rotation of the flywheel. This resulted in the amputation of the employee's right thumb at the nail bed. The employee was treated without hospitalization. Weather conditions were not a factor, as the work was performed indoors. Contributing factors to the incident included the employee's position during the manual rotation and the lack of guarding around the vertical belt and pulley.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Belt, Contact, Lockout/Tagout, Lost Balance, Pulley, Thumb, Unguarded