Woodworking Tool Safety Fatality File
No. 1 Workers thumb severed by circular saw
A worker was using a circular saw to cut timbers to the required size. He was holding onto the timber piece using his right hand and holding the handle of the machine with his left hand. During the process of cutting, his right hands thumb was cut off.
The accident happened when the injured worker was holding onto the shorter side of the timber piece while cutting using the circular saw machine. His right hands thumb was placed directly below the blade of the circular saw and was consequently severed off.
No.2 Workers fingers severed by table saw
The injured worker was cutting a wooden plank using table saw when his left fingers came into contact with the saw-blade. He informed the company director that he had cut his fingers. The carpenter suffered amputations of his left thumb, index and middle fingers, and nail bed grafting on the left ring finger.
Investigation Findings
The carpenter was using the table-saw machine to cut the plank into the desired size, where he hold and push the material towards the rotating saw-blade with his hands that resulted in having his fingers severed by the exposed rotating saw blade.