Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1440514.015 - Masco Cabinetry Middlefield Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Cleveland Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 11:00 p.m. on October 16, 2019, an employee was working for a firm that manufactured wooden kitchen cabinets and countertops. He worked as a machine operator. At the time of the incident, he was working in the notching department, operating a Martin Pistorius notcher saw machine, with serial number 15128. He was making wood panels for cabinetry approximately 4 inches by 26 inches by 2 inches in size (102 mm by 660 mm by 51 mm in size). He reached in toward the saw blade to remove wood product that had just been cut or notched. His left hand came into contact with the still-moving sawblade. He suffered a partial amputation of the tips on the third through fifth fingers on his left hand. He was treated without hospitalization. The employer's safety manager stated later that the notcher machine has been in operation for years and in the same condition as it was in on the date of the incident and during the subsequent OSHA inspection. The notcher had a guard in place and two hand controls for operation. The safety manager noted that there was a small gap in the rear of the guard right at the cutting edge of the notcher blade. The manager stated that the notcher had been in daily use, but following the incident, the firm had locked and tagged out the notcher and removed it from service. The firm was now using only the newer machines to which it had added more guarding and signage. The firm had conducted training on the new machines. It had also reworked the jobs so that a smaller notcher blade was now being used.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Carpenter, Finger, Fingertip, Hand, Hand Control, Instantaneous amputation, Machine Guarding, Machine operator, Partial Amputation, Reach, Reaching, Saw, Sawblade, Struck Against, Traumatic Amputation, Wood Board, Wood Panel