Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Flowers Baking Company, 8960 Marshall Dr., LENEXA, KANSAS 66215
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An operator was working near the sifter on the bun line. While troubleshooting the flour flow on the sifter, the operator sustained the amputation of the right middle and ring fingertips.
AmputationFingertip(s)Food and beverage processing machinery-specialized, n.e.c.
An employee was cleaning spilled oil off a conveyor belt on the bread pan empty conveyor when his left hand was caught between the belt and roller guide, resulting in an amputation to the left index finger.
An employee was clearing a bread basket/tray jam from an elevated conveyor. As they were climbing down an A-frame ladder, the employee missed a rung and fell 4 feet to the cement floor. They sustained a right hip fracture.
An employee was removing product from a roller conveyor when his right index finger was caught between the conveyor and a mobile slide, resulting in a distal phalange amputation.
On or about 1/2/15 at 9:10 p.m., an employee was preparing to troubleshoot the hamburger bun bagger machine that was not working. He received an electrical shock when he came in contact with a proximity switch. Employee was working alone at the time of the incident. He was admitted to the hospital for one day.
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 311812)
An employee (who had recently walked through water accumulated on the floor) slipped and fell to the floor. The employee suffered a broken right wrist and right elbow and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was performing maintenance on a production line, requiring a testing and positioning phase for the whipped cream dispensers. The employee was positioning the dispensers using wrenches when one of the sensors was triggered by the pie pans coming down the line. The depositor heads lowered and pinched the employee's left ring finger, resulting in an amputated fingertip. The whipped cream dispensers were not guarded at the time and the line was not locked out/tagged out.
During a line changeover, an employee was rinsing a depositor with water. The employee was working to remove a piece of chocolate, stuck in the machine's roller, when the roller's moving parts caught his middle finger. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip with bone loss.
An employee was emptying a trash can into a dumpster. He tripped while turning around, fell over a rail onto the concrete floor, and broke bones in his back and wrist.
During a changeover, an employee was wiping down the dough chunker machine and the chunker closed on his left hand. The employee sustained crushing/laceration injuries, requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.