Inspection Detail

Inspection: 2827020 - Mack Trucks Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

On January 3, 1985, Employee #1 was using a direct drive hydraulic press on the engine assembly line, Department 210, to assemble rocker arms for two- and four-valve standard engines. In this operation, a shaft is placed horizontally in the press and an alignment pin is inserted. The first stand is placed on the bed, a location pin is inserted, and a holding/spacing bar is pulled over to hold the stand in a specific location on the bed. The press has a hydraulic cylinder under the bed which drives a horizontal ram. The press is activated when the operator pulls the control lever with his right hand, pushing the shaft through the stand to the stop on the holding/spacing bar. The press is deactivated by pushing the operating lever forward. Employee #1 was putting the first stand on the shaft, but the shaft did not go completely through the stand. Instead of looking to see how far through the shaft had gone, Employee #1 placed his left index finger between the shaft and the stop on the holding/spacing bar to gauge the distance between them. The press then finished pushing the shaft to the stop, amputating the tip of Employee #1's finger. He had apparently not disengaged the press before inserting his finger. The engines were manufactured by Modern Engineer Service of Berkley, MI.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, POWER PRESS, FINGER, WORK RULES, SHAFT, HYDRAULIC PRESS, PRESS OPERATOR, INATTENTION