Interpac Technologies Inc: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Jun 17, 2008: Employee is caught in machine, amputates finger

At approximately 5:10 p.m. on June 17, 2008, Employee #1 was working in a plasti c bottling line. Employee #1 was injured when he was attempting to dislodge an e mpty plastic bottle as it was being fed into the line through the bottle orienta iner (KAPS-ALL Packaging System "Orientainer"). Employee #1 had not attempted to stop the machine prior to dislodging the bottle nor did he use an extension too l. The machine was not guarded at the time of the accident. Employee #1 got his left ring finger caught in a belt and pulley drive, causing the amputation. Empl oyee #1 was treated for his injury but was not hospitalized.

Incident on Apr 8, 2008: Worker amputates two fingers on assembly line knives

On April 8, 2008, an employee was working as the operator of a packaging line fo r Interpac Technologies, Inc., a wholesale distributor of groceries, in Woodland , CA. On his line, pouches were to be filled. He noticed that the pouches had be come bunched up by a knife that was supposed to cut the pouches apart from each other on the filling line. He hit a STOP button on the line's computer screen, t hinking that action would stop the line. When he reached into the line to pull t he pouches out, the line cycled and the knife activated, amputating two of his f ingers. A coworker offered assistance and cut the power to the line. The Woodlan d Fire Department responded and arranged transportation to UC Davis Medical Cent er in Sacramento. The employee sustained amputations to his right ring and middl e fingers. A clear enclosure surrounded the packaging line, and individual doors with interlock safety controls allowed access to various parts of the line. The interlock devices were not operational and the actual doors physically removed at the time of the accident.

Incident on Mar 5, 2008: Employee amputates finger tip in chain and sprocket drive

On March 4, 2008, Employee #1, a mechanic, was performing maintenance at the end of a pouch filling line where the pouches drop off after being filled. To reach this work area, he opened a clear door whose interlock safety switch was not co nnected. The pouch filling line was turned off to allow him to work on the syste m. Employee #1 continued working, turning the line on/off six to seven times. Wi th another adjustment, the line was turned back on. One of the pouches traveled past the point where it was supposed to drop, so Employee #1 reached out for the pouch. As he reached for the pouch with his right hand, the line cycled and dre w his hand and pouch into a chain and sprocket drive. The line stopped and he wa s able to free his hand when the line cycled again. Emergency medical services w ere called and they responded, arranging transportation to Woodland Memorial Hos pital. Employee #1 sustained an amputation to the tip of one finger and a punctu re wound to another finger. He was released later the same day.