Inspection Detail

Inspection: 312768377 - Beal'S Enterprises Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:35 p.m. on August 30, 2008, Employee #1, a fabricator employed by Beal's Enterprises, Inc., a sheet metal fabricating business, was working at the John Deere Engine Works facility in Waterloo. Working alone on the roll form machine, Employee #1 was making test cells by rolling 16-gauge sheet metal, to form 8-in. to 10-in. pipes, approximately 16 in. long. Employee #1 rolled the first piece of metal, and then shut the machine off to adjust the rollers for the next roll. Employee #1 stated that in making the adjustment, he held the metal with his right hand, while he reached over and turned the machine on with his left hand. The roller grabbed his hand and started pulling it in. Employee #1 was wearing leather gloves, and he assumed that the glove got caught in the rollers, without him realizing it. Employee #1 immediately stopped the machine by hitting the emergency stop button. He was then able to reverse the rollers. The rollers crushed part of Employee #1's little finger and the tips of his middle and ring fingers of his right hand. Employee #1 wrapped his hand in clean rags and located his supervisor, who immediately drove him to the hospital. Employee #1's little finger was amputated up to the second joint, after it became infected.

Keywords: CLOTHING, FRACTURE, AMPUTATED, FINGER, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CAUGHT BETWEEN, INFECTION, NIP POINT, SET UP, INATTENTION