Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301760229 - Dixie Narco, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Sc Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:40 p.m. on December 14, 1998, Employee #1 and a coworker were inserting and removing parts on a 500 ton Chicago dual-operator power press. The coworker had just removed a part from the take-off side of the press, and Employee #1 was inserting a part to be stamped. Neither man was pressing the palm buttons when the ram cycled to the bottom and stayed there. Employee #1 suffered the amputation of three fingers and the partial amputation of the index finger on his right hand. In a separate incident involving a dual-operator power press, at approximately 5:00 a.m. on January 19, 1999, Employee #2 and a coworker were operating a 300 ton Verson press. Set-up operators were called in to change out the die and they switched the key selector to single operator mode to test the die. When the testing was complete, the power press was turned over to the operators and press operations resumed. The coworker put in a blank and both he and Employee #1 pressed the buttons. The coworker flipped the part over and Employee #1 put the part in place, while the coworker put another piece in the loading side. The coworker activated the press and Employee #1's right hand became caught in press when the die closed. The middle, ring, and little fingers on his right hand were amputated.

Keywords: DIE, AMPUTATED, POWER PRESS, FINGER, WORK RULES, POINT OF OPERATION, PRESS OPERATOR, MECH MALFUNCTION, PRESS