Inspection Detail

Inspection: 111840088 - Sonoma Woodworks

Inspection Information - Office: American Canyon District Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was a shop supervisor at a woodworking shop that made oak boxes and bathroom fixtures. He performed all machine setups and test runs before assigning production workers to run the parts. On October 9, 1999, Employee #1 set up a power-fed shaper to climb-cut an approximately 18 in. long by 1/2 in. wide groove in 1/2 in. by 3/4 in. wide oak boards. Climb-cutting is the term for when the cutting head is rotating in the same direction as the material feed; it is used to obtain a smoother surface finish in the cut groove. The hazard of climb-cutting is that if the cutter snags or the power feed is not set tight enough, the piece will be propelled through the shaper and out the delivery end at a high rate of speed. Employee #1 had done the setup, which included tightening the power feed, and was instructing a production worker how to operate the machine. The operation required one person to feed boards into the machine and another (the offbearer) to receive the boards coming out and stack them on a pallet. Employee #1 was offbearing while instructing the machine operator. Two boards had been fed through and as Employee #1 was bent over putting the two boards on the pallet, a third board was propelled through the machine by the cutter. It struck Employee #1 on the back of the head, resulting in a laceration that required approximately 25 stitches to close. The operations manager inspected the shaper and found that the tension had loosened. This meant the power feed would not control the movement of the boards through the cutter, causing them to be kicked through. The problem was corrected by adjusting and fully tightening the feed. No deflectors, enclosures, guards, or personal protective equipment were provided at the offbearer's position to prevent employee exposure to boards kicked through the shaper. The employer was cited for an accident-related violation of T8CCR 3303.

Keywords: BOARD, KICK BACK, HEAD, PPE, WORK RULES, LACERATION, STRUCK BY, FLYING OBJECT, UNGUARDED