Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126197797 - East West Staffing

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

On December 21, 2005, Employee #1, a laborer, was working as a contractor for an employer that processed food. Employee #1 was pushing dough into a Gyoza Dumpling machine, Model Number A16, when his fingers came into contact with the blade of the filling position in the filling cam box of the machine. Employee #1 did not utilize the push stick and placed his fingers between the metal dough plate and the conveyor to help push the dough into the machine. The moving conveyor pulled Employee #1's fingers into the filling cam assembly. Employee #1's fingers were sheared by the blades on the filling pistons. Employee #1 suffered crushing injuries to his left pinky, ring and index fingers, which required surgical amputation. Dumpling dough was gravity fed from the dough sheet assembly above the filling cam assembly onto a conveyor, where it landed atop dumpling forms and is squeezed through a .75-in opening into the filling cam assembly. The filling pistons inside the cam assembly inject the filling into the dumpling form. The filling pistons had a blade on the end of a spring, and the filling was injected into the dough in the form. The pistons presented a shearing action, when it rose and lowered to inject dumpling filling into the dough. The secondary employer identified the crushing and shearing hazard inside the filling cam assembly and provided training to the operators and a push stick to use, if necessary to better position the dough on the conveyor before it passed through the .75 in. dough plate opening into the filling cam assembly. The filled dumplings came out of the discharge side of the machine and were dropped into another form on a lower conveyor for further processing. The point of operation was not properly guarded to prevent Employee #1's hand from entering the point of operation. Employee #1 had been employed for the primary employer for two months prior to the accident. The primary employer provided was not aware of the conditions that existed at the worksite. Employee #1 was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for his injuries.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, EQUIPMENT OPERATOR, MACHINE OPERATOR, CRUSHED, POINT OF OPERATION, UNGUARDED