Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314330697 - Frank-Lin Distillers Products, Ltd.

Inspection Information - Office: American Canyon District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:14 a.m. on April 4, 2012, an employee was working as a machinery maintenance foreman for a distiller in Fairfield, CA. He had a filler valve that needed to be sanded to smooth out irregularities, so he put it in a South Bend metal lathe. He locked the filler valve into the lathe's chuck jaws, turned on the lathe, and began sanding the valve. He was wearing loose fitting cotton gloves, and his index finger got caught and drawn into the chuck. The tip of the index finger on his left hand was amputated. There were no witnesses to the incident. Emergency services were called, and the employee was taken to the Kaiser Permanente facility in Vacaville, CA, for further treatment. He was off work from April 4, 2012, through April 18, 2012. A causal factor was that the employee was wearing loose fitting cotton gloves in a situation where there was the danger that the gloves could become entangled in moving machinery or materials. The employer reported the injury to the Concord Cal/OSHA office via telephone at approximately 8:48 a.m. on April 5, 2012. DOSH arrived at the scene of the incident on May 2, 2012.

Keywords: LATHE, MAINTENANCE, ROTATING PARTS, AMPUTATED, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, FINGER, GLOVE, MACHINE OPERATOR, CAUGHT BY, DISTILLER