Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314533407 - Metal Manufacturing Company, Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

On September 16, 2010, an employee was working as a production worker with Metal Manufacturing Company, Inc., a firm based in Sacramento, CA. He was operating a Cincinnati Series 5 or Number 5 mechanical press brake to bend 2-inch-wide stock into a "V" shape. He would stack four pieces of stock one on top of another and align them in the press. Then he would remove his hand and use a foot pedal to activate the press. Once the pieces had been bent, he would remove the material and repeat the process. Moments before the accident, the employee inserted a stack of material and bent it. With the bend complete, he reached into the press to remove the material. His hands became pinned when the top ram came down on them. Thinking he could raise the top ram by activating the foot pedal, the employee did so. The press, though, continued its downward cycle, amputating eight fingers. Once the press completed its cycle, the employee was able to remove his hands. He was stabilized and then transferred to the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. The tip of one finger was reattached, but the employee sustained varying degrees of amputation to the other seven fingers. He was released from the hospital on September 21, 2010.

Keywords: DIE, AMPUTATED, FINGER, FOOT CONTROL, MACHINE OPERATOR, CAUGHT BETWEEN, POINT OF OPERATION, FOOT-POWERED PRESS, PRESS, RAM