Inspection Detail

Inspection: 311248306 - Kerry Ingredients & Flavours

Inspection Information - Office: Naperville Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:00 p.m. on February 28, 2008, Employee #1 was preparing to drain food oil from the inside of a food mixer (Day Mixing, Serial Number 88995) into a 5-gallon bucket, to verify batch amounts. The machine was turned off at the control panel. The employee inserted both of his arms through the open mixer door in the area of the mixing blades in order to hold the bucket under the oil spout in the back of the mixer. A coworker was standing at the control panel for the machine a few feet away. The employee told the coworker to press the oil dispense button on the control panel but the coworker, inadvertently, pressed the machine start button instead. The pneumatic interlock switch was activated, which normally would close over the mixer door when in the "closed" position to prevent opening the mixer during operation. This made a loud popping sound which the employee knew meant that the machine was starting up, so he immediately tried to pull his arms out of the machine. In the process, his left arm was struck by the mixing blades, and the employee suffered a partial amputation of his left wrist. Employee #1 was hospitalized. The employee did not know that he could lockout the mixer without killing power to the oil dispenser. Both employees thought that the employee would be protected by an electrical limit switch on the open mixer door, which failed at the time of the accident due to water damage during previous cleaning operations. The employer did not develop, document and require employees to utilize a lockout procedure when performing this task. The employer did not ensure that employees had obtained through training the knowledge and skills required for the safe application, usage and removal of the energy controls for the mixer.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, MIXER, LOCKOUT, STRUCK BY, BLADE, UNTRAINED, WRIST