Concrete Fabrications Ltd., fined £107,000 after worker's arm was torn off in conveyor

Concrete Fabrications Ltd., a Bristol based manufacturer of concrete products was fined £107,758 (inc.costs) after a worker’s arm was torn off when it was pulled into the rotating tail pulley of a conveyor belt.

The circumstances were:

• On 18 May 2015 a worker had to adjust tensioning rods which were located inside the machine’s guards, in close proximity to the conveyor belt and rotating tail pulley.
• A sufficient risk assessment would have identified the risks associated with tracking conveyor belts, and identified appropriate control measures.
• There needs to be clear procedures regarding maintenance and adjustments of machinery. 
• Arrangements should be in place to ensure that machinery is not run without the necessary guarding in place, and that clear isolation and lock off procedures exist.
• However, an unsafe system of work existed for the maintenance of machinery, in so much that the dangerous moving parts of the machine were exposed during maintenance operations.
• The worker noticed that aggregate had built up on the tensioning rod and he tried to knock off the material with a hammer so he could use a spanner to adjust the rod. 
• However, the hammer was dragged into the rotating machinery along with the employee’s arm which was severed between the shoulder and the elbow.