Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307162479 - Graphic Press Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:30 p.m. on August 30, 2004, an employee was working as a roll tender with Graphic Press located in Los Angeles, CA. Graphic Press was an incorporated company that printed packages, brochures, and pamphlets for private industry. The employee worked with a coworker at a Rima stacking machine (serial number 505142). The crushing rollers of this machine were located at the end of a delivery conveyor and compressed stacks of brochures so that they could be packaged for shipping. When the rollers of the machine jammed, a coworker asked the employee to help him clear the machine. The employee lifted the plastic guard covering the roller area, and began pulling the brochures out of the machine with both hands. Although the machine was equipped with an interlock for the safety guard, the machine continued to run with the guard raised. As the employee removed the brochures from the machine, his left hand was pulled into the machine, which squeezed his fingers between the rollers. This resulted in amputation to the employee's index and middle fingers at the first knuckle. Employee interviews revealed that the interlock of the roller section of the machine had been disconnected and had not been functioning for several weeks. The investigating authority, Cal/OSHA, determined that the accident was caused by the employer not implementing effective energy control procedures or providing appropriate extension tools for the safe removal of brochures from the Rima stacking machine.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, PRINTING, FINGER, GUARD, WORK RULES, CAUGHT BY, INTERLOCK, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CRUSHED, NIP POINT