Friday 21 February 2014

Poor guarding claims two fingers

Dina Foods, a Park Royal food company was fined  £5,477 (inc. costs) on 19th February 2014 after an employee lost the ends of two fingers in a poorly-guarded machine.
The circumstances were:
  • On  4 May 2013 the worker was cleaning the machine and was trying to detach a drum when his foot pressed an operating pedal. 
  • The machine started running and his right hand was caught in the rotating mechanism
  • He suffered partial amputation of the ring finger and serious injury to the little finger of his right hand

The HSE Inspector  said:
“This worker has been severely affected by the injury and now has a long-term impairment. It may have serious consequences on his future work prospects, especially where dexterity is a requirement. If Dina Foods had ensured the machinery was suitably guarded, the incident would not have happened. It was only after enforcement action by HSE that the firm introduced measures that should have been taken before to protect against access to dangerous parts of the equipment. It is not uncommon for employees in manufacturing industries to be injured when cleaning unguarded, operating machinery. The law specifies the measures that should be taken and HSE will prosecute companies which have sub-standard safety precautions in place.”

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