Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315528018 - Universal Alloy Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Santa Ana District Office

Investigation Summary

On the morning of February 9, 2012, Employee #1, a permanent, fulltime employee, was working for his employer, a manufacturer of aluminum extruded parts. Employee #1 was rushing to finish drilling holes in aluminum parts. He indicated that he wanted to leave the work table free of work, before he attended a safety meeting. Employee #1 was operating a 20-inch drill press that was manufactured by Dayton (Model 32919C). The drill was guarded by a "U"-shaped, thick piece of Plexiglas that surrounded the drill bit. Employee #1 brought the lever down with his right hand and held an aluminum piece with his left hand. As the drill bit lowered to drill into the aluminum, the part moved and caused Employee #1's glove to be caught by the drill bit. When this occurred, his thumb was amputated. Employee #1 was transported to UCI (apparently UC Irvine) Medical Center. His wound was cleaned there, and he was released. On February 9, 2012, the employer called the Division to report the serious amputation that occurred the same day. Employees were interviewed, and they indicated that their employer had stressed the importance of not wearing gloves while operating a drill press. Employee #1 said he was instructed and knew that he should never wear gloves while operating a drill press. However, because he was rushing, he did not remove his gloves. The employer had a record of enforcing their safety program.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, DRILL OPERATOR, GLOVE, WORK RULES, CAUGHT BY, THUMB, DRILL PRESS