Inspection Detail

Case Status: CLOSED

Inspection: 1570941.015 - Wei Sales, Llc. - Wells Enterprises Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Inspection Nr: 1570941.015

Report ID: 0751910

Date Opened: 01/04/2022

Site Address:
Wei Sales, Llc. - Wells Enterprises Inc.
1191 18th Street Southwest
Le Mars, IA 51031

Mailing Address:
1 Blue Bunny Drive Po Box 1310, Le Mars, IA 51031

Union Status: Union

SIC:

NAICS: 311520/Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing

Inspection Type: Referral

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: N

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 02/08/2022

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 03/18/2022

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Referral	1846847	Yes

Case Status: CLOSED

Violation Summary
Violations/Penalties	Serious	Willful	Repeat	Other	Unclass	Total
Initial Violations	1					1
Current Violations				1		1
Initial Penalty	$6,339	$0	$0	$0	$0	$6,339
Current Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$6,339	$0	$6,339
FTA Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0

Violation Items
#	Citation ID	Citaton Type	Standard Cited	Issuance Date	Abatement Due Date	Current Penalty	Initial Penalty	FTA Penalty	Contest	Latest Event	Note
1.	01001	Other	19100147 C04 I	02/14/2022	03/17/2022	$6,339	$6,339	$0		I - Informal Settlement

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 142453.015

Event: 12/27/2021

Employee crushes finger in valve, fingertip is later amputat

On December 27, 2021, an employee arrived at work and realized that the pump was not running on a chocolate line. Coworkers had been trying to run the line, but no chocolate going to the dip tank. The employee took apart the pump, cleaned it, and put it back together, before realizing the pump was not the problem. The employee then realized that the valve that controls the flow of chocolate into the dip tank could be malfunctioning. The employee grabbed a ladder to gain access to the valve, which was just under 8 feet above the ground. The employee removed the tubing that was attached to the valve to look up into the valve. The employee saw that the valve was clear but thought there might be something still stuck in the valve, so he stuck his finger up into the valve to feel if there was anything there. The valve cycled crushing the employee's finger between the valve and the valve wall. The employee was transported to the hospital shortly after and was admitted. The employee's left index fingertip was amputated.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Bypass, Bypass Guard, Caught In, Energized, Finger, Fingertip, Food processing, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine operator, Malfunction, Mech Malfunction, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Partial Amputation, Pinched, Valve

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	1570941.015	31	F	Hospitalized injury		Food Cleanup Worker

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