Inspection Detail

Inspection: 304095292 - King'S Command Meats Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Dosh Seattle Service Location, Seattle, Wa

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a 19-year-old meat grinder's helper, was emptying meat from the grinder/mixer into bins. The meat was fed into the grinder at the top and, once ground, went into the mixer. The mixer housed two augers that rotated clockwise at 3 rpm along an inside groove 1 1/4 in. from the outside lip of the chute from which spices could be added. Part of Employee #1's normal duties was to prevent meat from spilling onto the floor as it was dumped through the 44 in. wide mixer doors into the two bins, each 30 in. high by 28 in. square at the mouth. Employee #1 was using one hand to span the width of the upper part of either side of the door to guide the meat into the two bins. For some reason, Employee #1 turned his head away while his right arm was raised. When he pulled his arm away from the mixer, he discovered that all his fingers and his thumb had been amputated. He called for help to the lead grinder, who was approximately 18 ft away. The mixer was not guarded, and normal procedure called for one of the augers to be shut off while the other rotated the meat from that side of the mixer into one of the bins.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, WORK RULES, MIXER, THUMB, MEAT BLENDING MACH, UNGUARDED, INATTENTION