Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1570995.015 - Palmer Food Services

Inspection Information - Office: Buffalo Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:30 a.m. on December 27, 2021, an employee was working for a wholesale food service distributor. Other workers there were operating a VARIOVAC Optimus 35 rollstock sealing machine, when it became jammed and stopped operation in mid-cycle. They called the employee over to fix the machine. Without deenergizing the machine, he removed a safety cover to access the area where he believed the machine was stuck. With a hammer, he tapped the outside of the machine to dislodge the part of the machine that was stuck. The employee was leaning on one hand as he tapped the outside of the machine. When the obstruction was dislodged, the machine resumed its cycle. A part came up and pinched the hand the employee had been leaning on between the seal plate and the seal head. His hand was pinched by roughly 90 pounds (400 newtons) of force up against a seal plate that was heated to roughly 130 degrees Celsius (266 degrees Fahrenheit). The device would not release. The machine operator hit the emergency power stop button and then the stop cycle button to try to release the box, but it did not release. At this point management was notified, and facilities personnel were brought down to help release the box. The employee's hand was crushed and burned. He was hospitalized.

Keywords: Burn, Caught Between, Crushed, Emergency Stop, Hand, High Temperature, Jammed, Lockout, Machine Cycled, Machine operator, Maintenance, Point Of Operation, Safety Device, Sealing Machine