Optimus Industries LLC

Employees were standing on the "B" economizer, approximately 4 feet off the ground, attempting to plumb six tubing elements. The assembly sequence was optimized for the "B" economizer by building tubular elements approximately 20 feet wide by 5 feet tall by 2 feet and weighing 1,050 lbs. each and installing them into a fixture to prevent toppling. At the time of the incident, six elements were installed into the fixture and all were held in place with F-clamps at the top while the bottoms were welded to the header pipe. Employee 1 and Employee 2 were standing on top of the fixture, 4 feet off the ground. The elements were leaning away from the employees toward the South. Employee 1 and Employee 2 instructed another employee on the ground to remove the clamps that were restraining/holding the tops of the elements in an attempt to manually plumb and reblock the elements. Employee 1 leaned two elements into the vertical position and upon leaning the third element upright, all six elements toppled toward them. The employees were struck by and crushed by the falling elements and suffered broken bones including broken ribs and a punctured lung. Both employees were hospitalized.

An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a truck. After the truck was unloaded, the employee got off the forklift and proceeded to adjust the dock plate with a hook tool. The dock plate slipped and the employee went to adjust the plate with their hand when their left middle finger got caught. Their finger was amputated above the first joint.

An employee was rotating a carbide granulator blade when his finger was caught between the blade and a stationary part of the machine. The employee's right middle finger was partially amputated and they suffered an avulsion to the right ring fingertip.

An employee was using a CNC metal lathe machine in manual mode to check that the thread blocking tool made contact with the jaws. As the employee was manually spinning the spindle, his index fingertip was crushed between the spindle's jaws and the grooving insert, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

During a material handling operation, an employee's fingertip was caught under an air conditioning unit as the unit was lowered onto a cart. The employee's fingertip was amputated.

An employee was removing a bolt from a tractor hub when their right index finger was caught between the hub and the frame. The employee's fingertip was crushed and the employee was hospitalized.

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.

An employee was laying underneath a cooler block while jacking up the tie bar to secure it to horses when the cooler block fell off the horses and onto the employee, resulting in several fractures to the pelvis, clavicle, wrist and tailbone.

An employee was climbing a ladder on a water cooling tower when they fell approximately 15 to 20 feet to the ground, resulting in a fractured left elbow.

An employee was preparing to sand a metal shaft that was loaded into a lathe when his left arm became entangled in the machine. The employee sustained several broken bones.

An employee was removing the banding from a load of mechanical supports, when one fell forward onto his left leg. The employee sustained a laceration to the lower leg and was hospitalized.

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.