Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Aarrowcast Inc. , 2900 E. Richmond Street, SHAWANO, WISCONSIN 54166
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was unjamming a guide wheel in a flask elevator. When the guide wheel was unjammed, it moved and pinched the employee's finger, resulting in a right middle finger amputation below the fingernail. The flask elevator was not locked/tagged out at the time.
Employees were working to lower a 1,600-pound pattern into a bolster. The injured employee was guiding the pattern into the bolster as the crane lifted and lowered the pattern a few times to get it to seat. The injured employee then began checking for obstructions. The crane lowered the pattern onto the frame and the injured employee's right index fingertip was caught and amputated between the pattern and the bolster.
On December 20, 2021, an employee was slagging off a furnace when molten iron discharged from it and landed on the employee's uniform. The employee sustained burns on their chest and arms, resulting in hospitalization.
At 7:00 a.m. on October 16, 2021, an employee was troubleshooting a machine. The top part cylinder became detached from the machine's top part frame, leaving a gap. The machine then cycled while the employee's right hand was between the cylinder and the bracket. He suffered amputations to the index and middle fingertips.
An employee was helping repair a dump box when they moved a twisted latch into position. The employee's right index fingertip was caught in a pinch point created by the latch moving flush to the dump box, resulting in an amputation of the fingertip just below the nail.
An employee used a 20-pound dry chemical fire extinguisher to extinguish a fire under the furnace on a melt deck. The employee began to have trouble breathing and was hospitalized, suffering from smoke inhalation.
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 331511)
An employee was realigning two halves of a core box on a core-making machine. Pneumatic pressure released, causing the core box to close on the employee's right thumb. The thumb tip was amputated between the nail and the knuckle.
An employee was performing maintenance/electrical work inside a substation, and used a ladder to access the top of a panel box. The employee fell 8-9 feet from the top of the panel box to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their ribs and a shoulder injury.
An employee's hand was caught in a pinch point in the area of a conveyor for a flask running out of a foundry molding machine. The employee's ring finger was crushed and partially amputated at the base.
An employee noticed a block was out of place under the weighted mold frame. The employee used another block to push the block out and replace it. When the block came out, the frame came down on his right ring and little fingers. The employee sustained a fracture and partial amputation to the ring fingertip.
An employee was using a fork truck to move a tub containing molten iron that had been drained from the cupula. The tub tipped over and the molten metal came in contact with water. This caused the molten iron to splash back and burn the employee's upper torso.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.