Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300834728 - Core Laboratories

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on June 9, 2006, Employee #1 was working as a core analyst for a medium-sized analysis company supporting the petroleum industry. He had been working for the company for 11.5 years, and he supervised employees in the drill room. He was troubleshooting a drill press. The drill press was used to drill into core samples to obtain a sample for analysis. Employee #1 asked a coworker, one of the operators, to turn off the cord- and plug-connected drill press. The machine was an MSC Industrial Supply Co. Model Number 951251 drill press, with Serial Number 941283, and it was located in the drill room with one other drill press. Employee #1 removed the cover guarding the speed-control belt and pulley and asked one of the two operators to turn the drill press on. The drill press had a 3-way switch (ON-OFF-ON). Employee #1, after examining the speed control, asked one of the two operators to turn the drill press off. One of the operators rotated the switch from ON to OFF and then mistakenly to ON. Employee #1, expecting the drill press to decelerate, placed his right hand within the nip point of the pulley. The middle finger of his right hand was crushed between the belt and the pulley of the speed control, resulting in an amputation of the tip of the finger, with bone loss. He was not hospitalized. Causal factors: The controls on the drill press was not labeled to indicate the "ON" and "OFF" positions. All motion was not stopped prior to the employee's reaching his hand into the danger zone. No California Title 8 standard was violated in connection with this incident.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, OIL WELL DRILLING, CAUGHT BETWEEN, DRILL PRESS, V-BELT, NIP POINT, PULLEY, UNGUARDED