Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310938659 - Wireco Worldgroup, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Kansas City Area Office

Investigation Summary

An employee was operating a wire-rope stranding machine when he heard a wire break in an adjacent machine. He ran approximately 9 meters to the back side of the adjacent stranding machine and leaned against the guard covering the machine's rotating parts trying to reach the emergency stop button, which was located on the opposite side of the machine, where the operator's station was. The guard collapsed under the weight of the employee, who was a large adult male. The rotating parts of the machine amputated one of his arms and crushed his skull, killing him. The stranding machine involved in the accident was 30 to 60 meters in length, approximately 1.4 meters in height, and 1.0 to 1.2 meters in width. It had multiple emergency stop buttons arrayed along the operator's side of the machine at roughly 3-meter intervals. The machine operator was at his control panel, located at the far end of the machine, and was activating the emergency stop button closest to him at the time of the accident. (The rotating parts of the machine did not come to an instantaneous stop even though the machine was equipped with a braking system.) The 30-year-old machine was manufactured by the Wire Machinery Corporation of America, which was no longer in business.

Keywords: HEAD, ROTATING PARTS, AMPUTATED, COLLAPSE, GUARD, MACHINE OPERATOR, CRUSHED, SKULL