Consillium Environmental Services fined £34,500 after worker was caught in conveyor

Consillium Environmental Services Limited, a Lancashire-based environmental services company, was fined £34,500 (inc.costs) after a worker suffered serious injuries when his arm was crushed by machinery.

The circumstances were:

• No suitable and sufficient risk assessment had been carried out to identify the risks from rollers on a conveyor. 
• There was no suitable isolation process or guarding in place, and no safe system of work for cleaning the rollers.
• On 20th May 2015 a worker was working on a waste line cleaning out waste plastic material from a conveyor belt when the machinery was started and his arm was drawn in between the rollers and the belt.
• He suffered crush injuries in two places on his left arm and needed extensive surgery. 
• He has not been able to return to work since the incident.

The HSE Inspector said:
“This incident was entirely preventable. It is essential to take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery. As in this case the outcome for ignoring these simple safety measures can result in life changing injuries and a substantial fine.”