Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310815485 - West Coast Iron Inc

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At 4:09 p.m. on February 22, 2008, Employee #1, a machine operator, was supervised by supervisor #1 and manager #1 and all three were full-time employees of West Coast Iron Inc. West Coast Iron Inc. punches holes in steel I-beams for the framing structure of industrial buildings in the San Diego County area. Large steel I-beams (55'long, 14 inches wide, weighing 22 pounds per foot, moving at a rate of 3-4 seconds per foot) move through a conveyor system to a punch machine that places holes (flange press) on the vertical and horizontal sides of the top and bottoms of the steel beams so during framing construction bolts and nuts can be inserted and the I-beams assembled like an erector set. A Beam Punch Line (BPL) O Peddinghaus, Model 1000-5C, SN BPL-115a, is a metal punch machine controlled by a Computer Numerical Controller (CNC) system. During the operation of the BPL, metal slugs (cut-outs from the I-beam when holes are made) are produced and sometime jam up the BPL and need to be cleared so production can be maintained. In front of the BPL is an inactivated Burn Unit where the I-beam rolls through via a coupler roller after the desired holes are punched in the I-beam. Employee #1 noticed metal slugs were getting in the way of the top flange press which could cause a jam, so he lifted the lift gate (this safety device was inoperable at the time of the accident) and walked between the Burn Unit and the BPL. Employee #1 positioned himself between the two machines (at the point of operation) and placed himself in the danger zone when he reached over to remove the metal slugs. The BPL is operated by a CNC that moved the I-beam and punched the next set of holes. When the I-beam moved forward down the conveyor it pinned Employee #1 on the roller section of the Burn Unit while positioned on his back. The bottom flange of the I-beam struck him in the inner left thigh of his leg as he tried to move out of the way up onto the coupler rollers of the Burn Unit. Employee #1 was hospitalized for several days at Mercy Hospital. Employee #1 sustained a severe and deep laceration to his upper left inner thigh as a result of his accident. While in the hospital Employee #1 had surgery on his left leg. At the time of Employee #1's interview, his physician wasn't expecting him to return to work to full duty.

Keywords: STEEL BEAM, MACHINE OPERATOR, INTERLOCK, THIGH, LOCKOUT, LACERATION, CONVEYOR, PUNCH PRESS