Maintenance worker injured in an incident that was avoidable, Health and Safety Executive said
Britain’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has fined a livestock feed manufacturer after an employee’s fingers were severed by machinery in February 2019.
According the HSE, a maintenance engineer was clearing rainwater in the pit when his gloved hand contacted the chain drive of a conveyor. The chain dragged his fingers into the nip where the chain winds around a sprocket, severing the ends of three fingers on his right hand.
An HSE investigation found that the company had failed to ensure the guard was on the chain drive. It had not been in place for some months and a further opportunity was subsequently missed to replace it after a breakdown repair carried out on the conveyor five days prior to the incident.
NWF Agriculture Ltd. of Nantwich, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 11(1). The company was fined GPB100,000 (US$140,000) and ordered to pay costs of GBP6,098.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided had checks been carried out to ensure control measures were in place and safe working practices followed,” said HSE inspector Matthew Tinsley. “Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
