Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307399170 - San Francisco Scrap Metal

Inspection Information - Office: San Francisco District Office

Investigation Summary

On January 10, 2008, Employee #1 was working as a laborer for San Francisco Scrap Metals, San Francisco, California. At approximately 11:30 a.m., Employee #1 was operating a hydraulic alligator shear (Constellation Model 1-1/2). The 60-year-old shear had 8-inch long serrated blades. The machine was actuated by a coworker's foot and did not have any point of operation guarding. Employee #1 was apparently cutting a piece of non-ferrous scrap or copper pipe when she inadvertently cut the tip of her right thumb. Employee #1 was taken to Kaiser Hospital by a coworker and was later transferred to CPMC hospital, Davies Campus, where she underwent surgery for revascularization of her injured finger. While Employee #1's injury was not considered an amputation, she was hospitalized for several days due to numerous post-surgery complications, most unrelated to her injury. The accident was reported to the District Office the next day. A Compliance Officer visited the site of the accident on January 24, 2008. Several attempts by the Compliance Officer to arrange for an in-person interview with Employee #1 failed. The cause of the accident could not be ascertained because it could not be verified whether Employee #1 was cutting any scrap metal at the time of the accident, and if so, whether the piece she was cutting was a long-length scrap or a short one. This information was important since the point of operation guarding requirement for alligator shears (T8 CCR 4236) had Class B designation, meaning the order applied unless the nature of the work, type of machinery, or size and shape of material being worked would not permit the use of such guard. An Information Memorandum was issued to warn the Employer about its responsibility to provide a Point of Operation guarding when its use was feasible. Employer was cited with one general citation. T8 CCR 3203(a)(7), which requires employers to have effective training to address safety hazards. Employer failed to train Employee #1 to use extension tools when cutting small pieces with the alligator shear.

Keywords: SHEARING MACHINE, SHEAR, FINGER, UNGUARDED LIVE PARTS, LACERATION, SCRAP METAL, UNTRAINED, HAND