Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307166694 - Stadco

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

On September 23, 2005, an employee, a machinist, was in the milling area of STADCO at Machine Number BM1, machining an aluminum plate measuring 34-in. by 56-in. by 1.75-in., weighing approximately 140 lb. The employee had been working on the plate for several days and had completed machining one side of it flat the day before the incident. On the day of the incident, the employee was to begin working on the other side of the plate which required it to be flipped over onto the other side. In order to turn the plate over, the employee attached a T-bar screw, Kant Twist, clamp to the plate which was then rigged with a nylon strap to the hook of a Frontier 10-ton overhead traveling crane. After lifting the plate up, the employee cleaned it with a rag and then moved it over from the left to the right side, from the employee's point of view, and then began to lower the plate down. When the plate was lowered to an angle of approximately 45 degrees, the clamp slipped off of the plate causing it to fall onto the gantry machine work table crushing the employee's finger between the plate and the table. The employee's direct supervisor was the maintenance supervisor who was in close proximity to the employee at the time of the incident. The employee was hospitalized and treated for amputation of fingers.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, HOISTING MECHANISM, SHEET METAL, FINGER, CAUGHT BETWEEN, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT