Inspection Detail

Inspection: 313167884 - Plasticolor Molded Products, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Santa Ana District Office

Investigation Summary

On October 14, 2010, Employee #1, a contract machine operator, was working on a nib press, making spikes on a thick plastic automobile mat. This is the final process on the floor mat manufacturing line. After the plastic mat is molded, it goes on a conveyor through an oven to bake the plastic material. After it comes out of the oven, the conveyor automatically feeds the mat into the Nib Press, where the two parts of the die squeeze the mat to create spikes at the bottom of the mat. This process is fully automated and no operator interaction is required, however, due to its thickness, the type of mat being manufactured required a second pass through the oven to bake it properly before letting it pass through the nib press. Procedure required Employee #1 to manually pick up the mat off of the conveyor before it entered into the nib press and feed it back into the oven for one more pass, and then let it go through the nib press after it came out of the oven the second time. Employee #1 saw some plastic debris inside the nib press dies, which could have caused some damage to the next mat, so he tried to clean it off before the next mat entered in the dies. The dies closed on his right arm, causing multiple fractures to his elbow and wrist. He also suffered considerable damage to his tendons in the right arm. Several surgeries and treatments were performed and he was hospitalized for 20 days.

Keywords: DIE, FRACTURE, GUARD, MACHINE OPERATOR, CAUGHT BY, POINT OF OPERATION, CONVEYOR, PLASTIC MFG, ARM