Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1497896.015 - Peet'S Coffee, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

At 3:45 a.m. on October 12, 2020, an employee was working as a senior maintenance technician "red worker" for a coffee and tea manufacturer. The employee arrived at work at 8:00 p.m. and was scheduled to work until 4:30 a.m. When the employee arrived at work, a maintenance crew was already working on coffee roaster #3's chaff conveyor auger due to a recent "heat event" that caused a clog. At approximately 3:34 a.m., the employee began quenching the auger with water and removed the drain plug on the bottom of the auger trying to find and free the clog. The employee noticed that no water was coming from the drain plug and decided to stick their right ring finger inside of the drain plug to try and free the clog. Instead, he contacted the rotating auger. When the injured worker's right ring finger contacted the auger, the employee suffered from a traumatic fourth digit distal avulsion with exposed soft tissue. The employee was transported by coworker (his supervisor) to the medical center for treatment of a traumatic fourth digit distal avulsion with exposed soft tissue. The coworker had the fingertip in a zip lock bag and sent it along with the employee. The employee was treated with pain medication and antibiotics.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Catch Point, Caught In, Clogged, Engineering Technician, Finger, Instantaneous amputation, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Maintenance, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Partial Amputation, Pinch Point, Pinched, Sheared, Traumatic Amputation