Agriculture Fatality Narrative: Farm Worker’s Hand Mangled in Hop Harvester

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 32-year-old hop farm worker mangled his hand in an employer-built hop harvester machine. He was a Spanish speaking worker who started at the family-owned farm eight days earlier for the annual hop harvest. He worked the night shift as a machine mechanic's assistant. The injury happened around 4 a.m. when the worker's shift was ending. Getting ready to clock out, he saw a long bine sticking out from the hop harvester's arm picker. The picker stripped leaves and stems from hop bines using a chain and sprocket drive that operated between 190 - 210 rpm. When the worker reached over into an open 11-inch gap above the picker to remove the bine, the energized rotating chain pulled his left hand in, shredded his work glove, and badly mangled his fingers and palm. Co-workers gave first aid and drove him to the hospital, where doctors amputated his index and middle fingers and part of his thumb. He was hospitalized for ten days. Months later, he has not returned to work and needs more treatment for his physical and mental trauma. Following the incident, investigators found: The hop harvester's arm picker had a horizontal steel mesh guard that was too low to prevent someone from reaching over into an 11-inch unguarded gap above the chain and sprocket drive. The worker did not follow his training from the employer to notify a lead mechanic, who was nearby, to perform lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedure requirements before cleaning out debris. REQUIREMENTS: Unless guarded by location, all sprocket wheels and chains must be enclosed. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: If a machine cannot be guarded by distance and location, protect workers from hazards created by rotating or revolving parts by using one or more safeguarding methods. Make sure guards are: Made of strong, durable materials, such as angle iron, solid metal, expanded metal, and wire mesh. Securely fastened to the machine or the building structure if they cannot be attached to the machine. Regularly inspected and maintained or replaced if not in serviceable condition. Make sure guards protect workers by preventing hands or other body parts from reaching through, over, under, or around the guard into the hazard area; and preventing objects or debris from falling onto or being thrown towards a worker. Install warning signs on and near machines to remind workers of operating hazards and LOTO requirements written in a language all workers can understand. Conduct Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) to identify machine operation hazards and solutions before use. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Agriculture Farmers Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Agricultural Machinery Agricultural Safety Agricultural Workers Equipment Design Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Farm Workers Fatalities Hazards Injuries Lockout Tagout Machine Operation Machine Operators Machine Safety Protective Measures Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Training Work Environment Worker Safety

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• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066875
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-232-2023, 2023 Jan; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Agriculture fatality narrative: farm worker's hand mangled in hop harvester
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a623be71c6de94cdaeebf61e11db275481b5e2066b53370b398565fd5b82e47cfeb1332c58bb701f1e13be40cf6714625f9bf8994d695f6eefa53dfe57f65253
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229157/cdc_229157_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 347.09 KB ]