Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1547198.015 - Sierra Foothills Construction Company

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:30 a.m. on July 21, 2021, an employee working as a carpenter for a general contractor was working on a residential construction project. The employee had been employed by the company for four years and had 26 years of experience in the industry. The employer only had the employee and a coworker, the project manager, working on site at the time. The employee was operating a Bosch Table Saw to rip 2-inch by 4-inch by 10-foot dry wood boards into 1-inch by 2-inch pieces for a deck edge. The employee had been ripping the boards for a couple of hours using a push stick to feed the wood into the saw. The employee was pushing with his right hand and using his left hand to push the wood against the fence. The employee had his left thumb hooked onto the edge of the table to keep his hand from traveling. The hood guard, anti-kickback device and riving knife were all installed on the table saw. The employee doesn't recall what happened. His first recollection is his left hand being in contact with the sawblade. There were no witnesses to the incident. The employee transported to the hospital, where he was admitted to treat a laceration and proximal phalanx fracture on his left hand index finger and distal phalanx fracture on his left thumb. On July 22, 2021, the employee was released from the hospital.

Keywords: Carpenter, Construction, Contact, Cutting, Finger, Fracture, Hand, Laceration, Machine operator, Push Stick, Pushing, Residential Construction, Rip, Sawblade, Table Saw, Thumb, Unknown, Wood Board