Inspection Detail

Inspection: 309300655 - Excalibur Extrusions, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Santa Ana District Office

Investigation Summary

On February 27, 2008, Employee #1 was bundling PVC pipes with tying twine as it came out of a belling machine. The belling machine belled the pipes and checked the measurement of the opening of the bell. This belling process was set on automatic mode, and the PVC pipes were transported laterally by a cog-wheel-like mechanism first through the heating station, where the end of the pipe was treated with heat in preparation for the "belling" action of the heat-treated end. Employee # 1 was binding PVC pipes and noticed that one of the air hoses of the machine had a leak. The employee called to his supervisor to come and check the air hose. As the supervisor was checking the air hose, Employee # 1 stood to the side and waited. The machine was not stopped, and Employee # 1 noticed that the PVC pipes were accumulating in the heating section located contiguous (laterally) to the belling point of operation. The employee reached over near the clamping device, which holds down the PVC pipe for the belling process, and attempted to mitigate the accumulation of pipes. The clamping device was approximately 2 ft from where he was standing. The tip of his right middle finger was pinched in the clamping device, and his fingertip was amputated. The supervisor took Employee #1 to a nearby hospital, where he was hospitalized.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, CAUGHT BY