Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307167254 - Crown Poly Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:15 a.m. on November 20, 2005, Employee #1, a Winder machine operator in the manufacturing of plastic bags, was assigned to work on Machine number 9. The Winder is the machine that winds the thin mill polyethylene type films onto 1-inch plastic cores. When finished, the roll of plastic bags is approximately 4 inches in width by approximately 10 inches in diameter. The Winder was setup to wind the plastic bag material coming from the Extruder. The material is fed through the back of the Winder machine onto a series of rollers. In front of the machine, the end of the film is looped around a shaft to begin the winding process. The Extruder is designed to manufacture a tube type sheet of plastic film and make perforations and seals approximately every 19 inches. As Employee #1 was working, the plastic film line broke between the Extruder and the Winder machine. After removing the unusable portion of film from the Winder, Employee #1, with the help of a coworker, was going to attempt to rethread the film through the Winder. He was standing in front of the Winder machine facing the controls. While the Winder machine was still energized, the coworker was threading the film through the rear rollers and told Employee #1 to pull the end of the film, which was in close proximity to the rotating shaft. With the clear guard in place, Employee #1 was able to reach under the guard with his left hand and grab the plastic. When he reached for the plastic sheeting, the rotating shaft caught the plastic material and pulled his left hand into the rotating shaft. The shaft severely cut his left index finger, resulting in the amputation of his left distal tip. He was taken to Technimed Medical Clinic by a coworker, where first aid was rendered. He was then taken to Downey Community Hospital, where he was treated for the amputation and released.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, ROTATING SHAFT, FINGER, MACHINE OPERATOR, CAUGHT BY, LOCKOUT, POINT OF OPERATION, PLASTIC MFG