Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310495304 - Pacific Fabric Finishing Inc & Chris Stone Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on May 11, 2009, Employee #1, who had been working for 15 months at a fabric dying and printing company with 90 employees, was performing his regularly assigned task as a dye jig operator. To dye a roll of fabric, Employee #1 loaded the 54-inch wide, 1,000-yard roll of linen fabric onto dye jig machine number five. He then threaded the linen fabric around the guide rollers, through the pan, and onto the receiving roller. Employee #1 began the mechanical dye process in which the linen fabric was passed through a pan containing various dye and finishing related chemicals. The process entailed rolling and unrolling the linen fabric between the driven rollers of the dye jig. Employee #1 monitored the dye process and manually forwarded or reversed the driven rollers to keep the linen fabric passing through the pan for approximately eight hours. Employee #1 observed the condition of the linen fabric to ensure that wrinkles did not develop in the roll up process. If a wrinkle did develop, Employee #1 was trained to smooth the wrinkle from the linen fabric by placing his gloved hand on the moving linen fabric at the pinch point of operation. While Employee #1 was smoothing wrinkles, his gloved left hand became trapped in the roll of linen fabric, pulling him into the machine and wrapping him into the fabric roll. Employee #1 fractured and dislocated his left wrist and shoulder. In addition, he fractured his ribs and cervical spine and sustained a perforated lung, a bruised heart, and brain damage. Employee #1 was transported and admitted to Los Angeles County, University of Southern California Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and was hospitalized for 11 days. Investigators interviewed Employee #1, a witness who was working in close proximity to Employee #1, other employees working in the immediate area, and Employee #1's supervisor. The investigation concluded that the drum winder nip point at the point of operation was not guarded to prevent employee entrapment and issued a citation to the employer.

Keywords: HEART, FRACTURE, LUNG, MACHINE OPERATOR, CAUGHT BY, POINT OF OPERATION, DISLOCATED, NIP POINT, BRAIN, UNGUARDED