Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1520967.015 - Eurotranciatura U.S.A., Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Tennessee Osha Jackson Office - Safety

Investigation Summary

At 3:19 p.m. on Thursday, March 18, 2021, an employee was working as a production helper for a company that made metal stampings for motor vehicles, and particularly for rotating electrical machinery. The employee was working in the facility's Generac weld cell. He was operating a hydraulic press that had been built in-house. The press was used to press pins into layers of stamped metal laminations, or lams. The lams were stacked inside a jig to ensure they were all properly aligned. Once proper alignment had been obtained, a pin was placed in the center of the lams. The press was then started to insert the pin into the lams. To initiate a press cycle, it was necessary only that two palm buttons be pressed momentarily. Employees were thus able to reach into the point of operation. In this incident, just as the employee started the cycle, he recognized that had forgotten to place the pin into the laminations. As the hydraulic press cylinder was retracting and the press was mid-cycle, the employee attempted to put the pin into place. His right hand became caught between a pneumatic hold-down clamp that held the lams in place and the press cylinder. Several fingers on the employee's right hand were amputated. The employee was hospitalized. At the time of the incident, the press had been in use for approximately two weeks. According to the facilities manager, there was no guarding at all on the press. The two hand trip controls were not equipped with guarding that would prevent an employee from contacting the control buttons unintentionally. The engineer, facilities manager, and managing director had all been on the production floor trying to get the press into production mode. The press was being operated by employees at the site in a startup mode. Full production was not being run while employees were producing parts. A Lexan or equivalent guard installed after the incident still had openings large enough for an employee to reach into the point of operation.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Caught Between, Engineering Controls, Finger, Hand, Hand Control, Hold-Down Clamp, Hydraulic Press, Inexperience, Instantaneous amputation, Insufficient Supervision, Lack of Engineering Controls, Machine Cycled, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Point Of Operation, Press, Reach, Reaching, Reaching In, Traumatic Amputation, Work Rules