Accident: 170392583 - Killed When Board Kicks Back From Edger

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on June 18, 1997, Employee #1 was off-loading boards from the head saw in a veneer mill and operating a Corley E535 edger, serial #E-536-046. He was operating the laser beam adjustments and entering boards into the edger. An 18 in. wide by 17 ft long by 1 in. thick board ran in through the anti-kickback fingers and through the feed rolls, but a buttswell knot caught on the right vertical structure of the edger opening and the board became caught. Employee #1, who apparently had been instructed to shut the machine off and manually remove stuck boards, instead used the next board to push, butt, and force the stuck board through the opening. The second board suddenly rode up onto the top of the first board and went on through the kickback fingers, which now were intact on that board. When Employee #1 freed up the feed rolls, the 18 in. saw blade threw the first board back down the entire length of the edger feed table and into his right ribs. He suffered a bruised right lung and a severely lacerated liver and died of massive internal hemorrhaging. Subsequent interviews and statements confirmed that other operators did the same thing to free up boards, and that there were no JSA, SJP, or SOP written procedures for such occurrences. Employee #1 had previously worked for the company for approximately 1 1/2 years and had just been rehired on May 29, 1997 after a three-year hiatus.

edger, work rules, jammed, liver, hemorrhage, flying object, laceration, work rules, struck by, kick back

Accident: 880815 - Killed When Struck By Board

Employee #1 was working between board edgers when he was struck in the head by a board that was ejected out of the edger. He was killed.

struck by, edger, flying object, board, head

Accident: 170812614 - Arm Injured When Caught By Hydraulic Cylinder

On January 6, 1997, Employee #1, a handyman at a sawmill, was using a picakroon to reach over a hydraulic cylinder's housing frame and reposition a board at the in-feed of an edger. The cylinder cycled while he was reaching over it, catching his upper left arm. He suffered lacerations and a chipped bone.

caught by, work rules, edger, fracture, saw, laceration, hydraulic cylinder, arm, clearance

Accident: 200900108 - Killed When Head Crushed In Table Edging Machine

On August 19, 1996, Employee #1 and a coworker were working on a computerized table edging machine called a T-molder. It jammed where the plastic T-molding perimeter edging was pressed onto the tabletops as they passed along a conveyor. Without locking out the machine, the two workers went to the area of the machine where reciprocating heads applied the T-molding and tried to manually fix the jam. The operator left Employee #1, went to the control pedestal, and executed a series of commands to unjam the machine. The T-molder cycled, and Employee #1's head became crushed between one of the reciprocating heads and the frame of the machine. He sustained a head injury and died a short time later.

edger, lockout, jammed, head, caught between, crushed, work rules, automatic machine

Accident: 200070043 - Fingers Amputated In Sawmill Edger

At approximately 4:15 p.m. on June 5, 1996, Employee #1 was operating a Tierney Bottom Arbor gang saw, a type of sawmill edger; a less experienced coworker who was positioned nearby was having difficulty with a similar machine. On several occasions earlier that day, Employee #1 had assisted the new operator and had generally, if not always, shut off the edger before making any adjustments. At approximately 4:15 p.m., Employee #1 again assisted the other operator after an approximately 18 in. long by 1 to 2 in. wide piece of wood became jammed in the anti-kickback fingers of the edger. Without shutting down and/or locking-out the machine, Employee #1 climbed on top of the in-feed table and used his right hand to reach behind the anti-kickback fingers to remove the sliver of wood. The in-running Coleman steel rollers grabbed his small finger and pulled his hand into the rollers and then into the gang saw blades. All five of his fingers were amputated. The machine was turned off, and Employee #1 was hospitalized for treatment.

saw, edger, jammed, lockout, roller--mach/part, nip point, caught by, finger, amputated, work rules

Accident: 170378350 - Fingertip Amputated In Tile Edging Machine

At approximately 11:15 a.m. on February 15, 1996, Employee #1 was greasing a gear wheel and rack on the slideway of a tile edging machine. The machine was not deenergized. Employee #1 was applying the grease to the gear wheel with his right hand when he inadvertently pressed the "ON" button on the machine's pendant controller. The gear wheel started moving, catching his finger against the rack. The tip of his finger was nipped off, for which he was hospitalized and underwent surgery.

finger, amputated, nip point, maintenance, edger, lockout, caught between, work rules, start button

Accident: 14528640 - Killed When Aorta Severed By Flying Wood Chip

Accident: 14528640 -- Report ID: 0419400 -- Event Date: 10/02/1995

Inspection Open Date SIC Establishment Name 109070615 10/04/1995 2421 Lincoln Lumber Co., Inc.

Employee #1, a gang edger operator, was struck in the chest by a piece of wood. The impact severed his aorta. He was killed.

struck by, chest, flying object, severed, artery, edger

Accident: 170622088 - Right Forearm Crushed By Setworks Arms

At approximately 3:50 p.m., Employee #1 was preparing to make a new connection for a water line prior to the plant shutting down at 4:00 p.m. This line helped cool the four saws on the edger. He was feeding the water hose between the steel enclosure for the setworks arms, four HXD arms that moved the four saws back and forth, when the hose curled or became caught on something. Employee #1 went from the walkway 6 ft down the ladder and 6 ft over to the setworks arms, of which one or more were in the open position. He was reaching between two of them when one closed on his forearm, crushing it. The saw operator heard him yell and opened up the arm so he could get out. The setworks arms open between 2 and 3 ft and close within 3 in. of one another. The machine was not locked out, and the saw operator did not see Employee #1 go down the ladder.

water hose, forearm, crushed, lockout, communication, saw, edger, work rules, caught by

Accident: 14559033 - Struck And Killed As Board Kicks Back 114619026 12/22/1993 2421 Tricon Timber Inc.

Employee #1 was feeding a rough cut board through an edger, (manufacturer/model unknown), when the board jammed approximately 3/4 of the way into the edger (6 ft of an 8 ft board). He initially attempted to free the jammed board by raising and lowering the press rolls from the operator's station, which was four feet from the edger. When this action failed to free the board, Employee #1 reversed the press rolls and raised the kickback fingers without first turning off the arbor (saw). The board then shot back from the edger, striking him. He sustained a broken arm, three broken ribs, and a lacerated liver and kidney; he died from internal bleeding.

kick back, struck by, board, edger, jammed, lockout, work rules, fracture, rib, liver

Accident: 170613145 - Struck In Abdomen As Board Kicks Back

At approximately 12:29 p.m. on November 9, 1993,Employee #1 was working at a strip picker station. He had stepped behind the edger when a 2 in. by 2 in. board kicked back. The employee was struck and sustained bruises and soreness to his upper abdomen. He was transported by paramedics to Mercy Hospital in Folsom where he was treated and released. This is classified as a non-serious accident.

struck by, kick back, abdomen, board, contusion, edger, work rules

Accident: 170129761 - Fingers Lacerated By Cutting Tool In Edge Shaper

Employee #1 was shaping the ends of a drawer front with an edge detail shaper. While holding the drawer front securely against the shaper fence with his left hand, he was pushing the drawer front through the shaper with a push block with his right hand. Employee #1's left hand slipped off the work piece and into the cutter area. His left hand was lacerated by the cutting tool.

finger, laceration, edger, hand, slip

Accident: 170121214 - Dies Of Injury Sustained When Struck By Board

Employee #1 was operating the bull edger in a sawmill sawing white oak. Two coworkers were grading and separating lumber on the green chain. As the volume of lumber coming through the edger increased, the men on the green chain could not keep up and became frustrated. One of the coworkers walked away from the area; the other picked up a 1 in. by 6 in. board and threw it down across the table. At that instant a cant was in the edger being sawed. The thrown board entered the edger at the rear or exit end with the pressure feed rolls in the up position. The saws in the edger caught the board and propelled it through the edger atop the cant. The anti-kickback fingers were worn, too short, and improperly spaced. The board was ejected from the edger and hit Employee #1 in the abdomen. Employee #1 later died of internal bleeding from lacerations to the hepatic and superior mesenteric arteries as a result of a blunt trauma to the abdomen.

sawmill, edger, equipment failure, board, kick back, struck by, abdomen, loss of blood, inadequate maint, work rules

Accident: 170206775 - Sawyer'S Toes Amputated By Chain And Sprocket

At approximately 3:30 a.m. on January 30, 1992, Employee #1, a tailsawyer for Louisiana-Pacific sawmill in Ukiah, CA, for 1 1/2 years, with 5 years total employment at the company, was at the end of the night shift when he walked through a swing gate into a restricted area. This area houses the in-feed chains for the sawmill's two edger. The edger's chains and sprocket are unguarded. Employee #1 signaled to the edger operator that he wanted to cross the rolls. The edger operator signaled "No" to Employee #1 because he had to feed two boards through the edger. The operator then turned away from Employee #1. As the operator fed the second board into the edger, Employee #1 stepped up 25 inches onto the edger's in-feed drive. His right foot was next to a 6 1/2 diameter sprocket. The sprocket's chain pulled his foot into the sprocket. Four of his toes were amputated. Employee #1 was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

amputated, toe, chain, sprocket, unguarded, foot, sawmill, edger, sawyer, work rules

Accident: 14232573 - Dies When Struck By Board

Employee #1 was working to the left of the head rig, approximately 28 feet from the entrance of the edger, when a board measuring 53 inches long, 1/4 inches thick, and 2 3/4 inches wide tapering down to 1 inch struck him on the left side of his face and neck. The board had escaped from the front of the Corley edger through a 41 1/2-inch long by 1 1/2-inch high opening between the pressure roller shaft and the top of the edger. Employee #1 bled to death.

struck by, edger, board, safety block, flying object, open shaft, face,