105,313Records 71,083Employers 85,290Hospitalizations 27,770Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-10-31
Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14371850

ROBOT,STOP SWITCH,INADEQUATE MAINT,WORK RULES,LOCKOUT,CRUSHED,UNGUARDED,MACHINE--MISC

Event
ROBOT,STOP SWITCH,INADEQUATE MAINT,WORK RULES,LOCKOUT,CRUSHED,UNGUARDED,MACHINE--MISC
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
14371850
Report ID
522000

Event description

Employee crushed and killed by industrial robot

Investigation abstract

Employee #1 was working with an industrial robot that takes parts from a conveyo ently Employee #1 pushed the parts against the locator switches that automatical ly activated the robot and the robot inadvertently crushed Employee #1 against t he drill press. Employee #1 died. The original interlocked gate guards had been damaged over time, removed, and not replaced. r, feeds them into a machining operation; takes the parts and inserts them into a multi-spindle drill press; and then puts them on a spray painting turntable fo r rust-proofing. Employee #1 had apparently replaced a drill bit and returned to production but, because the parts didn't properly contact locator switches on t he drill, the robot stopped. (This was a common problem.) Employee #1 apparently then reentered the robot area without locking out or hitting the "system stop" button or pushing the "hold" button. The "system stop" button can be hit earlier in the cycle before hitting "hold," and was found to override the "hold." Appar

Victim

  1. #1 Fatality Age 43 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    5
    Event type
    2
    Source
    26
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    9
    Environmental factor
    1
    Task assigned
    1

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