Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1529760.015 - Kiwo Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Houston South Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 4:05 p.m. on April 30, 2021, an employee working as a production helper for a manufacturer of photographic films and chemicals was cleaning a Shar System Model D758N Mixer/Dispenser. The employee was cleaning the shaft and the attached dispersion blades with water and a painter's scraper. The cleaning procedure calls for a the shaft and blade to be rotating slowly in a drum of water while being sprayed down with the water. At some point, the employee was struck by the rotating shaft and blade which was still sticky from emulsifier and water. The employee was then drawn into the shaft while it was still spinning. The employee was rendered helpless until fellow employees in the area were able to hit the emergency stop button on the control panel and free employee from the shaft. The employee was hospitalized to treat a fractured tibia and fibula.

Keywords: Catch Point, Caught Between, Cleaning, Drum, Emergency Stop, Engineering Controls, Fibula, Fracture, Inexperience, Insufficient Supervision, Lack of Engineering Controls, Leg, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Mixer, Mixer Blade, Pinch Point, Pinched, Production Line, Pulled In, Rotating Parts, Rotating Shaft, Safety Device, Shear, Sheared, Shearing Machine, Spinning, Struck By, Tibia, Trapped, Wrong Equipment