Worker loses 2 fingers - plastic recycling firm

A plastics recycling factory in St Helens was fined £15,000 after a worker had parts of two fingers cut off by blades on a high-speed fan. The employee suffered serious injuries to four fingers on his left hand including the partial amputation of two.

He was injured while trying to repair a drying unit at the firm in May 2009. The Court heard that the employee's fingers came into contact with the high-speed fan while he was trying to fix a problem. The HSE investigation concluded that the company's procedure for repairing the machine was inadequate.

The HSE inspector said:

"One of the factory's employees suffered serious injuries because basic health and safety procedures were not followed. He has still not returned to work more than a year on from the incident.

"By law, the preferred solution would have been for the workers to switch off and lock off the power supply to the fan with padlocks. If this was not possible, then temporary guards should have been put in place. These or other equally effective measures were not taken.

"Sadly incidents like this are all too common. Factories must treat the safety of their workers as a top priority to prevent serious injuries or even deaths in the future."

The Company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was ordered to pay £4,347 towards the cost of the prosecution in addition to the fine at St Helens Magistrates' Court on 25 May.

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A store owner is fined £12,567 after being held responsible for an accident in which a three-year-old girl suffered second degree burns. The child’s dress caught fire as she walked past a propane space heater in the store. It was only the bravery of the child's father (who was also treated in hospital for burns to his hands as he tried to put out the flames) that prevented his daughter from suffering even more serious injuries.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Fire Safety Enforcement Officers and Environmental Health Officers from West Lancashire Borough Council launched a joint prosecution against the fabric store. The business owner was found to be in breach of Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 .

Fire service investigators who visited the business in the aftermath of the incident were said to be “appalled” by the lack of fire safety in this commercial site and the fire service concluded that the owner:

"failed to put the safety of the public first"

The store owner failed to initiate basic risk assessments, failed to fit fire or smoke detectors and alarms, failed to provide escape routes with suitable lighting and failed to ensure fire escapes could be used safely and quickly.

A spokesman for the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Fire said:

"Under fire safety regulations every ‘responsible person’ is required to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment. This may be done as part of the general Health and Safety Risk Assessment, or as a separate and specific Fire Risk Assessment.

Regrettably in this instance the responsible person had failed to undertake a Fire Risk Assessment which would have identified the unsuitable use of the space heater along with the lack of general fire precaution, and steps required to ensure public safety."

The store owner was also found guilty of offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act brought by West Lancashire Council.

Fire Safety - Some simple steps

Although it is the employer's responsibility to carry out the Fire Safety Risk Assessment (FSRA) and to make suitable and suffiicient arrangements for the overall management of fire safety, it is still very much everybody’s responsibility to reduce the risk of fire. Employers and employees have simple, but important, contributions to make. Here are a few simple ways in which we can all make our workplaces are safer in this regard.

Sources of ignition

Ensure that sources of ignition are kept away from flammable materials. For example take care when using portable
heaters that they are away from waste bins, fabrics and other furnishings. Remember that all electrical devices get
hot and make sure they are well ventilated.
Always report electrical defects and do not use defective electrical equipment.

Smoking

If you smoke, ensure that you do so in the appropriate, designated areas.
Make sure that you extinguish cigarettes in proper ash trays and never throw them in a general waste bin. Prior to
smoking controls in the workplace, cigarettes were the single biggest cause of workplace fires.

Housekeeping and storage

Good housekeeping is essential. Waste paper and packaging make excellent fuel and should not be allowed to
accumulate. Make sure such materials are removed at least daily and where activities have led to a large amount of
such material accumulating, remove it straight away.
Where bins are designed to have lids, keep those lids shut. This will reduce oxygen supply that might otherwise
accelerate an accidental waste bin fire.
When disposing of cardboard or storing it for recycling always store it flat and compacted as much as possible. This
reduces the surface area exposed to oxygen and makes it harder to burn.
Make sure that all materials are stored in a safe place, away from sources of heat and never in a main walkway,
corridor or stairs. Remember that all walkways are emergency exit routes, not just the ones that are marked as such.
Materials stored in a corridor may not look much of a hazard in bright light in normal circumstances, but remember
that in an emergency many people may be rushing along the same route and lighting may be absent or severely reduced

Be prepared

Make sure you understand the fire procedures in your workplace.
Ensure that you know how to call the emergency services – do you need an extra 9 for an outside line?
Read the fire action notice and the instructions on your fire extinguishers now. Do not leave it until there is a fire to
find out what you should do.
Ensure you know where the gas isolation valve is, if appropriate.
Remember that fire extinguishers are to aid escape or to tackle very small fires only. Never try to put out a large
indoor fire yourself. Simply ensure the alarm is raised and get out.

Director disqualified for 4 years

The MD of a steel erection firm has been ordered to pay £45,000 and has been disqualified from serving as a director for four years after a worker was paralysed from the chest down. Two other companies have also been ordered to pay penalties totalling £172,000 for their part in the incident at a construction site in Glossop, Derbyshire back in February 2007.

During the installation of a new racking system, one of the workers fell over nine metres onto a concrete floor and has been unable to return to work since. He is likely to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The HSE commented:

" ... (the worker) should have been provided with a safe system of work to protect against falls ... This could have included personal fall protection, such as a harness and work restraint lanyard fitted to a running line, and properly fitted safety nets”.

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A Burnley tool manufacturer was fined £1,000 after one of its workers lost a finger when it became trapped in machinery.

The tool manufacturer was prosecuted by the HSE following the incident. The injured worker was using a piece of emery cloth to reduce the size of a metal component on a metalworking lathe. Predictably, the cloth became trapped by the rotating mechanism, pulling in his right hand. Mr Whittaker was wearing a glove at the time which pulled his hand further into the machinery.

The worker had not received training on how to operate the machine safely, or on the dangers of using emery cloths on metalworking lathes. The HSE investigation revealed that the company had failed to assess adequately the risks of using emery cloths on rotating equipment and had not implemented a safe system of work to control the risks.

The HSE commented:

"Paul Whittaker has been unable to return to work and his injury has significantly affected his ability to grip and lift with his right hand. Sadly injuries like the one he suffered are all too common.

"A significant proportion of incidents at lathes are caused by emery clothes being used in an unsafe way. If Mr Whittaker had been warned against using a piece of emery cloth while he worked on the lathe, he would not have lost his finger."

"This incident is also a reminder that gloves should not be worn when working with rotating parts. I hope manufacturers learn lessons from this case so that no more workers suffer permanent injuries in the future."

Missing guard - bread maker loses finger

A specialist bread manufacturing company was fined after a worker was injured by a dough mixing machine and had his finger amputated.

The worker was using a spiral mixing machine to make dough when his left hand came into contact with the unguarded beater of the mixing machine. Consequently, part of his left index finger had to be amputated.

An investigation by the HSE revealed that the guard covering the dangerous parts of the machine had been missing for some time before the incident. Further to this, previous advice from the HSE regarding the maintenance of machinery in the factory had been ignored.

The Barnet based bread making company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)and was fined £3,500 (with costs of £2,926).

The HSE inspector commented:

"This incident could easily have been avoided. The hazards associated with this type of machine are understood within the food manufacturing industry and there is clear guidance on the guarding standards which should be followed.

"There were clear failings on this occasion. Had a simple guard been fitted to this machine then ... would never have suffered these injuries."

Worker nearly loses foot in machinery

A Bradford farming company was prosecuted by the HSE after an employee was seriously injured after slipping into a manure machine. The employee lost his big toe and part of the heel of his left foot, broke all his toes and severely damaged the ankle of his right foot when he fell into a manure auger.

An investigation by the HSE revealed that the auger, a screw conveyor that takes the manure out of a battery hen house, was not sufficiently guarded, allowing the the worker to slipp in and to trap both feet.

The court was told that the doctor attending the incident became so concerned for the man's welfare that firefighters seriously considered removing his foot as the only means of getting him out of the machine. The worker is currently still off work and recovering from his injuries.

The employer was fined £2,000 (with costs of £1,395) after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

Following the trial, the HSE inspector commented:

"This worker nearly lost his foot, and he has suffered long term injuries - all because his employer failed to ensure the machine was properly guarded.

... (the Compnay)needed to install properly-fitted guarding to this machine, to prevent this incident.

... Employers must thoroughly plan work activities around dangerous machinery, to account for any risks and to avoid these incidents from happening."