Following an accident in which a worker suffered partial de-gloving of his hand when his hand was pulled through a pastry lid maker, a food manufacturing firm (Thomas of York Ltd in Helmsley, York) pleaded guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and was fined £6,500 with £691.45 costs at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court.
The pastry lid maker had been modified to improve its operation, however, the modifications required the removal of parts of the safety guard resulting in the worker breaking several fingers in an incident that happened in February 2015.
This accident could have been avoided if risk assessments were undertaken and the necessary safety guards were in good working order. In addition, regular health and safety audits should have picked up anomalies which could have been corrected avoiding risk to users.
CSC can help you with your risk assessments and on-going compliance checks. Avoid unnecessary accidents and contact us to discuss how we can help you.
Source: