Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1572089.015 - Maples Industries, Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Birmingham Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:45 p.m. on December 27, 2021, an employee was working as a machine operator at a carpet and rug mill. She was operating "the New 4x6". This was a machine that had been designed and built by her employer. The employer had designed and built other similar machines. For the machine to run, a roll of plastic was loaded on the dispensing roller. As the plastic is dispensed, labels were placed onto the plastic. A machine operator placed a rug onto the bed of the machine. The rug was pulled into the machine, where it was partially rolled. At the appropriate time, the plastic that had been cut to length was fed onto the rug, and both were rolled into the finished labeled product. The rug was then dropped onto a lifter than tilted up and dropped the rug onto a conveyor. The conveyor transported the rug to another operator, who placed it into a bag and put the bagged rug aside for packaging and shipment. The plastic was cut to length when a sensor detected that the plastic was in place and ready to be cut. At the time of the incident, the machine had been getting jammed. A new roll of plastic needed to be loaded onto the machine, but the machine had been jamming. The plastic was jammed just before it went past the knife for to be cut. The employee was working with maintenance and inspection coworkers. The policy was for employees to turn off the machine in order to clear a jam. This time, the machine was on and energized after the new roll of plastic sheeting had been loaded. When the employee reached over to grab the bunched or jammed plastic, the sensor activated the knife to cut the plastic. The employee suffered a finger laceration and avulsion. She went to an orthopedic doctor, who determined that the injury amounted an amputation instead of an avulsion. The employee was treated without hospitalization.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Avulsion, Carpet, Finger, Jammed, Knife, Laceration, Lockout, Machine Cycled, Machine operator, Plastic, Point Of Operation, Roll