A chemical company, was fined for safety breaches after a worker had his left arm crushed in a bottle filling machine.
The magistrates court heard how on 9 September 2017, the 25-year-old worker suffered an open crush injury to his left forearm at the company’s site. He also sustained tendon damage to the forearm, wrist and hand.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the filling machine had not been electronically isolated and locked off by the injured person, or other persons, which would have ensured that the recalibration task could be carried out in a safe manner.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company has been fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £8,261.28 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing, the HSE inspector said: “Non-routine maintenance tasks must be carried out by trained personnel working to standard safe operating procedures.
“the company should have developed a standard operating procedure for the adjustment process, which if implemented correctly along with their lock off procedure, could have prevented the incident.”