Inspection Detail

Inspection: 316344142 - Wna Comet West Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At 11:30 a.m. on May 23, 2012, Employee #1, a material handler/technician, was removing material from the hopper of an injection molding machine at WNA, Incorporated, and hot molten material sprayed out under pressure and onto his face, shoulder, and left arm. WNA, Incorporated manufactures disposable drink ware, dinnerware, serving ware, and cutlery. Employee #3, a technician, had received a request from an employee to look at injection molding machine Number 24 because it was not working. Employee #3 went over to the machine and removed a plastic part that was stuck in the mold. Employee #1 approached Employee #3 and told him to go to lunch and that he would take care of the problem. Employee #1's immediate supervisor was out of town. Employee #3 was in charge that day and was in the lunch room. The employer did not ensure that Employee #1 was trained for lockout/tagout or trained for technician work. Employee #1 was making an attempt to start up the machine with the help of Employee #2. They both realized that no material was coming out the nozzle. Employee #1 proceeded to empty the material hopper and once empty, he removed the bolts that secured the hopper. Once the bolts were removed, he moved the hopper to the side and realized that there was a ball of Ferco material lodged in the screw barrel. Employee #1 made several unsuccessful attempts to remove the ball of material. Employee #1 maintained himself on top of the screw barrel and communicated to Employee #2 to engage the "injection forward" button in order to force the ball of material thru the screw barrel. At that time, a sudden burst of Ferco material shot out thru the barrel feed throat, striking Employee #1 on his face, shoulder, hands and arms. Employee #1 was burned and was hospitalized.

Keywords: BURN, SHOULDER, SCREW CONVEYOR, MOLDING MACHINE, LOCKOUT, ARM, FACE, ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE, HAND, HOPPER