Inspection Detail

Inspection: 312669310 - Azusa Unified School District

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:30 p.m., on January 12, 2012, an employee was cutting 2-in. by 4-in. pieces of wood with a table saw. On the day of the incident, the employee started work at his normal time 6:30 a.m. For a project he was working on, the employee started reviewing plans and taking measurements for the necessary cuts. He left for the hardware store to get additional material. The employee got back to his workshop and started laying everything out. He went to lunch and got back at 11:30 a.m. The employee started using a 5 horsepower Powermatic table saw, serial number 96662232, to make two plunge cuts to 2-in. by 4-in. pieces of wood that were 21 inches long. The cuts being made were 18 inches long. On his second cut, the board started to rise and he took his left hand to hold it down when the board kicked back. The wood was caught on the cutting blade and pulled his left hand into the blade, severely lacerating his left ring, middle, and pinky fingers. At the time of the incident, the employee's supervisor was at lunch off site. Other maintenance coworkers standing outside the carpenter shop heard the employee yell out. The employer did not ensure that a guard/cover or an anti-kickback device was used by employees while operating the table saw. The employee was hospitalized for three days.

Keywords: KICK BACK, AMPUTATED, FINGER, UNGUARDED, TABLE SAW