Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1564711.015 - Elberta Crate & Box Co.

Inspection Information - Office: Savannah Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:30 p.m. on November 12, 2021, an employee was working for a firm that manufactured wooden containers and pallets. He was operating a Jackson chipper. The chipper's conveyor belt was slipping on the head roller. The belt was slipping on the roller because there had been a fire in the drying kiln. The employer had put out the fire with water, and the water had accumulated in a low area near the chipper. The conveyor for the chipper was in the low area, and the belt had become wet and thus slipped on the rollers. This occurred several times per week. The employer does not have a cleaning schedule and/or a housekeeping procedure. To prevent the slipping, the employee was reportedly throwing dry sawdust on the nip point where the belt met the roller. He had removed an expanded metal guard to gain access to the head roller. He put his hand inside the opening to throw sawdust on the roller. His hand was caught and pulled into the nip point. His arm was amputated below the elbow. He was hospitalized.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Arm, Caught Between, Caught By, Caught In, Chipper, Cleaning, Conveyor Belt, Elbow, Fire, Hand, Housekeeping, Inadequate Maint, Kiln, Machine Guarding, Nip Point, Reach, Reaching, Roller--Mach/Part, Sawdust, Sawmill, Slip, Unguarded, Wood, Work Rules