Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1531243.015 - Waupaca Foundry, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:30 p.m. on May 4, 2021, an employee working as a machine operator for an iron foundry was working in the mill room at the end of the second shift. The employee was leaning over and onto Broach #15 while cleaning flash off the working surface. Employees are required to clean flash out of the broaches on a daily basis if the broaches were needed for the work being performed. While leaning over the machine, the employee was depressing one of the two-hand control buttons without first deenergizing the machine. A coworker was working nearby cleaning debris off the floor. The coworker used the broach machine to standup and inadvertently hit the other two-hand control button as the employee was cleaning with his left hand. The broach actuated and struck the employee's left hand. The employee was hospitalized to treat amputations the his index finger above the first knuckle and ring finger above the second knuckle.

Keywords: Actuated, Amputated, Amputation, Caught Between, Cleaning, Energized, Engineering Controls, Finger, Flash, Foundry, Instantaneous amputation, Iron, Knuckle, Lack of Engineering Controls, Lack of Work Procedures, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine Cycled, Machine operator, Mill--Plant, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Partial Amputation, Point Of Operation, Shear, Sheared, Traumatic Amputation, Two-Hand Control