Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300892593 - United Rentals Northwest, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: San Francisco District Office

Investigation Summary

On January 28, 2003, Employee #1, was working for United Rentals Northwest, Inc., as a yard person. The employer rents and sells construction supplies and equipment. Employee #1 was working on a grounding cable used for welding. Employee #1 crimped a lug at the end of the 18 in. cable. He then found that the eye of the lug was too small for a bolt to go through. He then used a drill press to enlarge the hole. Employee #1 began to operate a Dayton 20-in. drill press, Model 6W282A, located in the shop. His foreman was not present. He held the cable with his left hand and the cable he was holding, spun around and was pulling him towards the drill. Employee #1 braced himself and hit the stop button. As the drill press was pulling him Employee #1 was able to pull himself away. He noted that his left thumb was missing. Employee #1's coworkers heard him yell and came to assist him. Employee #1 went to the service manager's office at which time emergency services were called. He was transported to the San Francisco General Hospital by ambulance. He was treated for having an amputated thumb. There were no witnesses. The employer reported the incident 2 days after the incident and was cited. There was no serious accident-related violation cited because Employee #1 was not authorized to operate any shop equipment. His use of the drill press was not known to the management. It also was not necessary to use the drill press. No other violations were observed.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, THUMB, GROUND FAULT, DRILL PRESS