OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221436983
CASCADE LUMBER AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY
CASCADE, IA·
Event description
Employee amputates finger in pinch point using linear saw
Investigation abstract
At 12:30 a.m. on February 4, 2022, an employee was feeding two 2 by 3 wood scrap could be placed side by side on the roller table entering the saw infeed. The employee's hand was on top of the two boards to feed them in the direction of the saw infeed. When the boards would reach a photo eye sensor just before the infeed, a roller(s) on the front side presses the board against a roller(s) on the back side, using pneumatic action clamps, which holds the board in place while it is fed through the saw. Since the employee was feeding two boards side-by-side, the two boards were pressed together during this process. The bottom tip of the right index finger got crushed between the boards as the boards pressed together. The employee went to the supervisor, who wrapped the hand and transported the employee to the ER at Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque, boards approximately 3 feet to 5 feet in length, side-by-side into the infeed of IA which is approximately 15-20 minutes away. The employee was treated, completed pre-operation paperwork, and released. The employee returned on February 8, 2022 for outpatient surgery, and the right index finger was amputated down to the first knuckle. The amputation was the result of a pinch-point created by feeding two boards side-by-side into the saw infeed. the Alpine Linear Saw. The saw was set for a 2 by 10 piece of wood. It was toward the end of the shift, and the employee was in the process of cleaning up the work area by feeding scrap boards, referred to as "drop" through the enclosed Alpine Linear Saw Model 276 (230VAC/60HZ/3PH/100A, 100PSI, 20-inch/100-tooth blade w/7.5HP motor, mfg. 2014) located in the saw room SW. The employee was cutting 2 by 3 scrap between 3 feet to 5 feet long down to 1-foot pieces. The saw was set for a 2 by 10 board, so that two 2 by 3 boards
Victim
-
#1 Non-hospitalized injury Age 56 F
- Event type
- 2
- Occupation code
- 727
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.