OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #707877
DOUGLAS & LOMASON COMPANY
HAVRE DE GRACE, MD·
Event description
Employee's arm amputated while cleaning press
Investigation abstract
At 10:55 a.m. on April 19, 1989, Employee #1 was cleaning scrap metal from the d ected. Causal factors for this accident include the fact that the operating pers onnel had not been warned about the service operations and that the press had no t been tagged. In addition, when the operators returned from lunch the service p ersonnel had already left the area of the press. The tool and die supervisor, wh o had returned to the area prior to the accident to check the setup of the press and to make sure that all of the stations had been turned back on, said nothing to the operating personnel about the potential dangers of operating the press. To access the press's control panel, the tool and die supervisor had to walk pas t Employee #1 as well as by the employee who activated the press. ie area by hand. While she was at lunch, the press was serviced by tool and die department workers, who had turned off three of the four control stations that w ould be used during normal operations. Operator Station #1 had been left activat ed. When the four operators, including Employee #1, returned from lunch, one of the other operators unknowingly activated the press, amputating Employee #1's ri ght arm. The press was equipped with four two-hand concurrent constant pressure devices as well as two light curtains on both the front and rear. During cleanin g, Employee #1 had moved in past the light curtain and consequently was not prot
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 25 Female
- Nature of injury
- Amputation (1)
- Part of body
- UPPER ARM (22)
- Accident type
- CAUGHT IN OR BETWEEN (2)
- Source of injury
- MACHINE (26)
- Occupation
- Punching and stamping press machine operators (706)
- Human factor
- MALFUNC IN SECURING/WARNING OP (4)
- Environmental factor
- SHEAR POINT ACTION (3)
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
Labels are OSHA's own, from the code dictionary published with the accident-investigation file. The raw code is shown beside each one so this page can be reconciled against OSHA's bulk data. OSHA notes that nature of injury, part of body, source of injury and accident type in this file are not coded to the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, and that the occupation titles are not standardised — so these values are not directly comparable with the OIICS-coded severe injury reports.