Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1670279.015 - Neenah, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:00 p.m. on May 14, 2023, Employee #1, a 40 year old male, was employed at Neenah, Inc. as a back tender. Paper Machine 4 was in the process of starting up cold from a week of being down for servicing and maintenance activities. The employee was in the process of tailing the paper through the size press when the tail broke. The paper machine was running approximately 230 feet per minute. The employee, as well as a manager, were walking from the size press to the first dryer section, where the tail had wrapped around the first dryer can. The employee turned the corner and entered between a metal bar and the first dryer section. The metal bar was secured the width of the paper machine and approximately 33.5 inches above the floor, providing the employee a workspace of approximately 24.75 inches between the metal bar and canvas roll. The unguarded nip point between the canvas roll and first dryer can was approximately 3.5 inches. The manager and an employee nearby saw an unidentified motion, believed to be a foot in the air, and quickly pressed the coast stop button on the control panel for the first dryer section. They rounded the corner and observed the employee was pulled in between the first dryer can and canvas roll up to his arm pit. After a failed attempt to cut the canvas roll to remove the employee, maintenance personnel were called over with a wrench to back the gears and remove the employee. Upon removal, lifesaving efforts were attempted no avail. The employee was killed due to multiple blunt force injuries.

Keywords: Blunt force trauma, Caught Between, Nip Point, Paper Machine, Roller--Mach/Part, Unguarded