The accident investigation below was opened on Friday, September 29th 2017 by OSHA representitives in Richmond, CA which had occured previously at National Gypsum Company. A 50 year old Supervisor had been injured when the employee suffered amputation of finger when caught in mixer l
Accident Date2017-09-20
Accident DegreeNon Hospitalized injury
NarrativeAt 10:10 a.m. on September 20, 2017, Employee #1, a production foreman, and a coworker/ the wet end operator, were working on the wet end line during the maintenance shutdown, cleaning the line. The coworker was cleaning the pin mixer and had partially placed the lid back on the mixer, using the available pneumatic hoist. The employee was standing on the opposite side of the line, cleaning the top of the mixer. Upon completion of another task, the coworker grabbed the handles of the mixer lid, lifted the lid, and pushed it back down to achieve a good seal. It was common practice for the wet end operator to lift and drop the lid several times to get it to seat properly in the seal around the perimeter of the lid. During the second lift of the lid, Employee #1 quickly leaned over and reached in to remove an object from the seal area of the lid with his left hand. The employee was unable to remove his hand quickly enough before the coworker pushed the lid back down, resulting in his middle finger becoming caught in the shearing and sealing process. Employee #1 suffered an amputation to the end of his left middle finger and was treated and released at a nearby hospital.