Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301134193 - Coca-Cola Bottling Company Of California

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:17 a.m. on September 24, 2002, a bottler for Coca-Cola Bottling Company of California was operating a palletizing machine at the company's facility located in San Leandro, CA. The palletizer was a large, two-story machine that stacked layers of cases of soft drink in plastic bottles onto wooden pallets, which were then shrink wrapped for distribution. The employee loaded pallets of 20-ounce bottles of product, when he noticed that the nearside guide rail came loose and bottles were being knocked out of the cases. To keep production going, he held the guide rail in place with his hand and called for a mechanic. While waiting for the mechanic, the employee got the bolt on the guide rail back in the hole, but it was only hand tight. When the mechanic arrived, the employee was injured when he pointed out the loose bolt on the palletizing machine to the mechanic. As he did so, the palletizer filled up and cycled itself off. He was unaware of the position of his left hand until the palletizer cycled back on and caught his left middle finger in the push bar chain. The shearing motion of the links of the chain amputated the tip of the employee's left middle finger and fractured the remaining portion. The investigation revealed that the employee was injured as a result of putting his hand into an unguarded chain drive while the palletizer was running. The employee was hospitalized at San Leandro Hospital.

Keywords: FRACTURE, PALLETIZED CARGO, FINGER, WORK RULES, CAUGHT BY, UNGUARDED, INATTENTION