Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1576930.015 - Central Valley Meat Co., Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Fresno District Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:00 p.m. on January 31 2022, an employee was working in the grinding room as a Sanitation Lead during the sanitation shift in a beef processing plant. The employee was responsible for ensuring that the sanitation work in this area was completed to the company standards and in a timely manner. The employee was filling the position for an absent employee and was responsible for cleaning the FPEC Model 2876 Single Screw Auger in the grinding room. An access panel on the back of the machine needed to be removed to clean debris from the chain and sprocket drive that drove the auger. The employee turned off the equipment prior to beginning cleaning activities and placed a tag on the equipment controls but no lock was used. The employee had loaned his assigned lock to another employee a day earlier. Once the access panel was removed, the employee used a water nozzle and a screwdriver to pry away at the debris and clean the equipment. The employee encountered difficulty removing debris that was wrapped around the shaft so he proceeded to turn the equipment on to assist with removal while using a high-pressure water nozzle. The employee's sleeve was caught and drawn into the gear and sprocket drive for the auger drawing his left hand into the machine. The employee reached in with his right hand to attempt to free his left hand, causing his right hand to also be drawn into the sprocket gear as a result. The employee amputated his left hand at the wrist. On the right hand, the employee's middle finger was fully amputated and the fourth and fifth fingers were partially amputated. Coworkers responded to the incident and applied a tourniquet to the employee's hand. The employee was taken by ambulance and admitted to a local hospital. The employee was referred to another medical facility where he underwent multiple surgeries to reattach the amputated hand and fingers.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Auger, Auger Mechanism, Caught By, Caught In, Chain, Energized, Finger, Food processing, Hand, Inexperience, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Meat Grinder, Meat Processing, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Partial Amputation, Pinched, Pulled In, Sprocket, Tagout