Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315560276 - Mcconway & Torley, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Pittsburgh Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12:30 a.m. on July 8, 2011, Employee #1 was working at an automated station on a mold line preparing molds for closure. He was assigned to insert pouring cups and an identification tag into the top of the sand molds. A maintenance worker found Employee #1 partially under a guard on the downstream side of the workstation. He had been impaled and crushed by the equipment. Preliminary investigation findings indicated that a quality control product identification tag was not inserted prior to the mold line indexing. The equipment faulted and ceased operation when the programmable logic controller failed to meet the hydraulic limit on the mold guidance system.

Keywords: IMPALED, GUARD, MOLDING MACHINE, MACHINE OPERATOR, INTERLOCK, CRUSHED, HYDRAULIC TOOL, MOLD, MOLD PLATES