Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1564357.015 - Parallel33 Lumber Corp.

Inspection Information - Office: Birmingham Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 4:00 p.m. on November 8, 2021, an employee was working as a sorter in a lumber mill when a wood splinter got jammed in the plastic bridge between belt conveyors. Wood was unloaded from trucks and placed on a belt conveyor that transported it up to the work platform. The wood on the belt conveyor transitioned to a second belt conveyor over a plastic bridge that covered the gap between the two belt conveyors. The wood traveled to the end of the second belt conveyor where it piled up onto a third belt conveyor aligned 90 degrees from the second belt conveyor. The sorters were located at the side of the belt conveyor and were tasked with removing bad lumber and throwing it over the conveyor into a chute to an area below the platform. The sorters aligned the acceptable lumber on the belt conveyor so that it would go through the automated laser scanning equipment. There was an expanded metal cage around the conveyor belt at the 90 degree transition which trapped the wood and prevented it from leaving the conveyor belt where wood would jam. Employees were instructed to use a pole to clear the jam. If the jam could not be cleared with a pole, then the line was to be locked out so that the jam could be cleared. At times, small pieces of wood or splinters would jam into the bridge. There was no guard around the bridge. A splinter jammed into the bridge and the employee reached over to remove it when his finger was caught between the bridge and belt conveyor. The employee suffered a fingertip amputation and was treated without hospitalization.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Belt Conveyor, Bridge, Caught In, Clearing, Finger, Fingertip, Jammed, Line Clearance, Lumber, Mill--Plant, Partial Amputation, Wood