The accident investigation below was opened on Tuesday, January 24th 2017 by OSHA representitives in New Bremen, OH after learning of an incident at Crown Equipment Corp. which had occured on Tuesday, January 17th 2017. A 51 year old Machine operator had been injured when the employee sustained fractured and lacerations in unguarded pre
Accident Date2017-01-17
Accident DegreeHospitalized injury
NarrativeAt 10:24 a.m. on January 17, 2017, Employee #1, a press brake operator, was ope rating a Cincinnati Inc. press brake, Serial Number 52916. The press, operated by a foot pedal, was equipped with Link Electric Black Max light curtains, Mod el LL-MAX-18-AS and Serial Number 8582. There were press setup configurations t hat required the use of a work support. The employer utilized light curtain bla nks to allow the press to be operated with the support when necessary. The bla nks were installed by the operator who screws them hand-tight onto a bracket th at is on the light curtain, and then used a key, which was always kept in the l ight curtain box, to program the curtains to run with the blanks. A brake oper ator on a previous shift utilized a light curtain blank for an order, but the b lanks were not removed after completion of the job and removal of the work piec e support, or prior to Employee #1s shift. The blank loosened and fell vertic ally behind the bracket where it went unseen by Employee #1. With the section of the light curtain blanked, and with the work piece support removed, the empl oyee was in the point of operation at the time the press was cycled. The press was not adequately guarded and allowed the employee to reach through to the po int of operation where the key was readily available to bypass the guarding. E mployee #1 sustained fractures and lacerations to three fingers on his left han d and was hospitalized for his injuries.