Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1527266.015 - Johnson Brass & Machine Foundry, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Milwaukee Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:30 a.m. on April 26, 2021, an employee working as a machine operator for a nonferrous metals foundry was cleaning an A-spinner machine as part of the machine setup. The machine is located in a 10-foot-wide by 10-foot-long by 5-foot-2-inch-deep pit. The machine 70-inch-diameter die was turning at a reported speed of approximately 80 rotations per minute (rpm). The employee was cleaning the inside of the die using a wire brush attached to a pole to reach inside the machine. The employee caught his shirt on the wedges located on the top of the spinning die. These wedges are used to secure the lid on the die during operation. The employee was pulled into the rotating machine and was spun around the pit until he came loose and struck the concrete walls and electrical and plumbing fixtures in the pit before landing in the corner. The employee was hospitalized to treat multiple cuts, contusions, sprains, broken bones, dislocations, a concussion, and internal injuries. His injuries included trauma to his arms, back, chest, hands, head, legs and neck.

Keywords: Arm, Back, Broken, Broken Bone, Catch Point, Caught By, Caught In, Chest, Cleaning, Concussion, Contusion, Cut, Die, Dislocated, Energized, Engineering Controls, Foundry, Fracture, Hand, Head, Internal , Internal Bleeding, Internal Injuries, Laceration, Lack of Engineering Controls, Lack of Work Procedures, Leg, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Metal, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Neck, Pinch Point, Pinched, Pit, Set Up, Spinner Machine, Sprain, Unsafe Position, Wrong Equipment