Inspection Detail

Inspection: 312666878 - Shaw Diversified Services, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on June 3, 2011, Employee # 1, who had been employed for 14 years as an assistant operator, was working in the production department for his employer, a carpet and rug manufacturer. The company had approximately 400 employees on its payroll and had been located in Santa Fe Springs, California for many years. A wire wheel brush (6-inch to 8-inch diameter) had fallen from the tenter chain of a moving conveyor and into a bin at the bottom of coater machine. Employee #1 cleaned the wheel, and when he tried to replace it, his left arm got pulled into the moving tenter chain of the coater machine. After his arm got caught in the machine, the circular wheel brush fell again, and Employee #1 was able to free his arm from the moving chain. Employee #1's left hand and arm were crushed, and he was hospitalized overnight at La Palma Intercommunity Hospital for medical treatment of his serious injuries. The employer reported the accident to Cal/OSHA within eight hours, as required by regulation. During the interview, Employee #1 stated that at the time of the accident, he was wearing leather gloves, which got pulled into the tenter chain during replacement of the wire wheel brush. Use of gloves was necessary, due to the hot nature of the work. Employee #1 also stated that the tenter chain had sharp pins that got into his arm and hand. During the investigation of the accident, it was observed that no guard was installed to prevent Employee #1's hand from getting pulled into the tenter chain. Therefore, the employer was cited for a serious violation.

Keywords: CHAIN, GLOVE, MACHINE OPERATOR, CAUGHT BY, LOCKOUT, CRUSHED, ARM, HAND, UNGUARDED