A packaging manufacturing company was sentenced after a worker was injured by an automated transfer vehicle.
The Magistrates Court heard that on 5 September 2017, the employee was walking along the factory floor when his leg became trapped between an automated vehicle and a conveyor at the company site. The vehicles, known as transfer cars, are used to move product around the factory and onto a conveyor system.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that although the company purchased the site in 2008, it had failed to assess the risk of injury from contact with the transfer cars until nine years later, only a month prior to the incident. An assessment which was carried out by an external consultant and given to the company in August 2017, highlighted several areas where remedial action was required and made it clear how far short the site was from compliance with the company’s own ‘group wide’ material handling system standard. The company had failed to ensure that the standard was adopted at the site and very little had been done to control the risks associated with the transfer cars.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £60,000 with £1512.89 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing, the HSE inspector said: “A worker was left with serious life-changing injuries because of this incident. Injuries which could have very easily been avoided, had the recommendations made in the assessment been acted upon.