HOLDREGE, NEBRASKA—2015-10-22

Becton Dickinson & Co.

Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations

Final narrative

An employee was clearing a jam and jogging the equipment due to a "barrel trip gate fault." The operator noticed a large jam and entered a gloved finger into the point of operation to clear the jam while jogging the machine. The left index finger was caught in the dial (part of the machine that brings the plunger up into the barrel for assembly of the syringe) and the fingertip was amputated. There are interlock doors on the machine normally guarding this point of operation, but the interlocks did not prevent the machine from functioning in the jog mode with the doors open. The jog function is controlled by a two-button control that is operated from the handheld pendent hardwired to the machine. Both job buttons can be operated with the same hand.

Amputation Fingertip(s) Machinery, unspecified

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