Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1537894.015 - Trim-Lok, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Santa Ana District Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:06 p.m. on May 28, 2021, an employee working as a machine operator for a manufacturer of plastic or rubber seals and trims was cutting product for shipment. The employee worked for a temporary staffing agency and was assigned to the plant. The employee was assigned to a guillotine cutter station cutting rubber trim to short pieces. The process required the employee to depress the foot pedal and then release it in order for the blade to drop down to cut the piece before returning to its home position on top. The employee fed the material into the cutter at which point it came down on both the material and her finger. There were coworkers including lead employees in the area, but there were no witnesses to the accident. The guard was inadequate allowing the employee to place her finger in the point of operation. The employee was hospitalized to treat an amputated left index finger.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Blade, Catch Point, Caught In, Cutter, Cutting, Engineering Controls, Finger, Foot Control, Foot pedal, Guillotine Shear, Hand, Inexperience, Injury Illness Prevention Program, Instantaneous amputation, Lack of Engineering Controls, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Point Of Operation, Rubber, Seal, Staffing Agency, Temporary, Temporary Employment Agency, Temporary Worker, Traumatic Amputation