Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314822859 - Bakersfield Cold & Dry Storage Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12:00 a.m. on October 1, 2010, Employee #1, a Security Guard, was performing his regularly assigned duties that included walking hallways, checking temperature readings throughout facility, securing doors, and permitting facility access to during evening hours. The employer specializes in the leasing of refrigerated rooms and spaces to the public, as well as providing forklift services for tenants. Employee #1 was walking a hallway inside the facilities cold storage warehouse, checking the temperatures displayed on digital thermometers attached to the outside of cold storage rooms. As he neared an area leased to a potato processing facility, Employee #1 began talking with two female workers, who were stationed at a roller conveyor sorting table. Employee #1 stood opposite the two workers on the other side of the sorting table and then placed his right arm on the conveyor, pushing potatoes to his left as he continued talking with the workers. While pushing the potatoes, his right hand contacted two moving rollers that pinched and crushed his ring finger. The system consisted of a direct drive chain and sprocket driven roller conveyors running across the table and then completing a full loop. Employee #1 received treatment at Kern Medical Center Emergency Room in Bakersfield, California, where the injured finger was amputated at the first joint. The accident investigation involved interviews with the facilities General Manager, a forklift operator, and Employee #1, and concluded that the roller conveyor sorting table was missing a guard for covering the sprocket and chain portion of the equipment. As a result, the employer was issued a serious citation under Title 8, GISO 3999 (b).

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, CONVEYOR, UNTRAINED, INATTENTION