Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301329967 - Rapid Rack

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

From 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. on June 11, 2003, Employee #1 was cleaning a roll while the machine was turned on. The employer is involved in the manufacturing of racks in Industrial City, California. The machine and procedure involved in the accident is called a rollformer. The assembly consists of a spool-like device for metal, a punch press to cut the metal into sections, rollers that bend the metal and a punch press that punch holes in the material. The accident occurred by the incoming rolls. The rolls had a guard equipped with an interlock that was not working at the time of the accident. The type of interlock that the machine was equipped with was similar to a key type interlock. There is a chain attached to a key. When the cage is lifted up, the key gets removed from the switch which deactivates the rolls. According to the Vice President of operations, they discovered after the accident that the chain was disconnected from the cage. During an interview Employee #1 stated that he started work at 4:30 p.m. and everything was running normally but that around 6:00 or 6:30 p.m., the parts started coming out marked wrong. His supervisor was with him examining the rollers. Then the supervisor was called into the office. His supervisor said that he would be right back and that was when Employee #1 proceeded to clean the rollers. Employee #1's training records show that he was trained in lockout and blockout procedures. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 placed his right hand on the rollers to clean it using the tip of his gloves while the machine was turned on. Employee #1's finger was pulled into the rollers and amputated. Employee #1 was hospitalized.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, INTERLOCK, LOCKOUT, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CAUGHT BETWEEN, PUNCH PRESS, FORMING MACHINE