Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at FPL FOOD, LLC, 1301 NEW SAVANNAH ROAD, AUGUSTA, GEORGIA 30901
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was attempting to restart a cooker's infeed screw. After locking out the equipment, he tried to pull the belts backward to get the screw motor to turn over. He then attempted to start the equipment. When the equipment started, the motor turned over and the belt caught his glove, causing his left index finger to contact the belt/pulley. His fingertip was amputated. The machine was unguarded at the time of the incident.
An employee was pulling cow hides out of a 12-foot-deep hide pool using a long handled, stainless steel hook. The employee was pulling the hides to the edge of the pool, locating the hole in the hide, and hanging the hide on a hide-chain hook for it to travel to the folding table. One end of the long hook got caught on the forward chain hook. Then quickly caught the second hide-chain hook. As the chain hooks got farther apart, the two hooks began to pull the long hook. The employee was attempting to pull the long hook out of the two hooks when their right thumb was caught in a pinch point, resulting in amputation.
An employee was waiting to off-load a truck that was being backed up to the door when the dock plate malfunctioned. The employee was helping to lower the dock plate manually when the plate fell and broke the employee's left arm.
An employee was cutting meat using a buster saw. The employee's fingers were caught between the blade and the guide, and the blade amputated three fingers.
An employee was using a bandsaw. The product slipped out of the employee's hand and the bandsaw amputated the employee's right thumb, also breaking the index finger and lacerating the middle finger.
Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.
An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.
An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311611)
An employee was scraping dried glue from the top lid of a hot glue pot. His left hand slipped and came into contact with the hot glue. He then suffered burns to his hands and fingers as he tried to remove the glue. He was hospitalized.
An employee was in a scissor lift approximately 20 feet above the ground to place a plastic tarp on a catwalk in order to catch condensation. They positioned the lift opposite the work area and stepped out of the scissor lift onto an I-beam. The employee fell from the I-beam to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a skull fracture on the right side of their head and injuries to the chest and both eyes.
A maintenance employee was called to look at a pallet conveyor machine where a chain had fallen off a sprocket wheel. When the employee grabbed the loose chain, a light sensor caused the machine to restart. This created a pinch point between the chain and sprocket that caught the employee's left little finger. The finger was surgically amputated at the second knuckle.
The injured employee was standing by one of the stationary computers along the wall. There was a half-pallet located approximately 3 feet behind the employee that consisted of 12-pound boxes stacked six boxes high. A forklift was transporting a pallet that came in contact with the stationary pallet behind the injured employee, causing four boxes to fall and contact their legs. The injured employee was hospitalized with leg injuries.
An employee was using a box strapping machine to place straps on boxes when his right middle finger was caught in the machine, resulting in an open fracture to the distal phalanx.
An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.
During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.