Inspection Detail

Inspection: 306173923 - Southeastern Metal Products, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Charlotte

Investigation Summary

On July 7, 2003, Employee #1 was operating a Johnson OBI part-revolution mechanical power press. The press was equipped with two palm-control buttons and a control reliability and brake monitor, Model Number SS-501, Serial Number 10372. The employee was removing a part from the bottom die when the press cycled. The press then stopped when the ram was close to dead center and the employee's right index and middle fingers were caught between the top and bottom die. He suffered two fractured fingers. The primary cause of the accident was determined to be a brake failure. The braking mechanism was loose, contained a defective seal, and was not lubricated, which caused stress on the brake mechanism and caused it not to operate properly. A secondary cause was that the timing interval was set too high above the machine stopping time. When the ram reached the top dead center, the brake did not hold the ram and allowed it to move to the bottom dead center. The brake monitor did not receive a fault signal and did not stop the ram.

Keywords: FRACTURE, POWER PRESS, FINGER, WORK RULES, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, LOCKOUT, TWO-HAND CONTROL, CAUGHT BETWEEN, POINT OF OPERATION, PRESS OPERATOR