Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314031790 - Precise Products, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Naperville Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on December 18, 2009, Employee #1, a screw machine operator, was operating a Brown and Sharpe 1.5 in. single spindle screw machine (Serial Number 542-2-4809) at Precise Products facility in Warrenville, IL. He hand-fed parts onto a rotating turret which was then inserted into the spindle/collet for machining (applying tread). The machine was in automatic mode while he hand-fed the parts. Employee #1 repeatedly reached into the spindle/collet in the middle of the machine cycle, between rotations in the turret, to clean the spindle/collet of debris with his right index finger. As he did this, his finger was caught in the point of operation when the turret rotated into the spindle, amputating the finger to the first knuckle. He received treatment for the amputation. The point of operation was not guarded by any means. The job was run on an infrequent basis, and Employee #1 had not personally performed the job for seven years. All other jobs were run in automatic mode, but with no hand-feeding of parts required. The employer did not have a safety and health program, did not adequately guard the point of operation, did not ensure that Employee #1 was trained in the hazards and safe operation of the machine, and did not ensure that the job was set up properly to clear the collet of any debris between the machining of each part.

Keywords: ROTATING PARTS, AMPUTATED, FINGER, CLEANING, POINT OF OPERATION, SPINDLE, UNTRAINED, MACHINE--MISC