Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1554333.015 - Archer Daniels Midland Company

Inspection Information - Office: Fairview Heights Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 8:15 a.m. on September 20, 2021, an employee working as a farm worker supervisor for a grain and field bean wholesaler was sampling grain. The employee was using a job made tool to obtain the samples while the conveyor leg was operating. The tool measured approximately 23-inch by 19-inch by 1-inch and had two metal handles that extended 6 inches out from the top of the tool base. The employee was sampling the hi roller conveyor leg. The sample is collected outside and the weather at the time of the incident was sunny and warm. The employee lowered the tool into the grain stream through the 24-inch-long by 1-? inch-wide sample opening on the top of the leg. The employee contacted the belt with the bottom of the sampling tool to ensure the sample was taken from the correct location. As the employee contacted the conveyor belt, the tool caught on the conveyor splice protector and/or wiper cleats that extend approximately 1/4 inch above the belt. When the tool made contact, it rotated quickly to the right causing the metal handle to break, pinning the employee's right-hand fingers between the tool and the top of the conveyor cover. The employee was hospitalized to treat amputations to two fingertips.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Belt, Catch Point, Caught In, Contact, Conveyor, Conveyor Belt, Energized, Finger, Fingertip, Food processing, Grain, Hand Tool, Incorrect Equipment, Instantaneous amputation, Machine Guarding, Nip Point, Partial Amputation, Pinned, Sample, Sampling, Struck Against, Supervisor, Traumatic Amputation, Wrong Equipment