ROBINSON, ILLINOIS—2021-09-24

Hershey Chocolate & Confectionery Corporation

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

Final narrative

On 09/24/2021, at approximately 4:30 PM, three employees were cleaning a toffee cooker. The toffee cooker consists of an upper plate and a lower plate that are raised and lowered to separate the cooker. The toffee cooker was locked out/tagged out. Once the toffee cooker was cleaned, the gasket was installed and it was ready to be closed up. Lockout/tagout was removed. The injured employee reached to adjust the seal as the lower piece come up into place and their right little finger got caught between the lower plate and the alignment pin, resulting in an amputation below the first knuckle. The machine was not guarded at the time.

Hospitalized Amputation Finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c. Heating and cooking machinery and appliances, n.e.c.

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