Mr Bagel’s Limited fined £9,000 after employee loses hand whilst clearing a blockage

Mr Bagel’s Limited. a bakery,  was fined £9,000 (inc.costs) after an employee amputated his right hand on a bagel production line.

The circumstances were:

• The mixer on the bagel production line did not have adequate measures in place to prevent access to the dangerous parts.
• Machine blockages are common events, but Mr Bagel’s did not have a safe system of work for clearing them.  
• A safe system of work would have included isolating the machine before attempting to clear the blockage.
• On 2 October 2017, an employee was attempting to clear dough that had become jammed. 
• As the dough was cleared, the machine restarted dragging the victim’s arm into the danger zone. 
• His hand was amputated at the wrist.

The HSE inspector said:
“This injury was easily prevented. Machine blockages are routine events; the risk to a person from clearing them should have been identified. Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.”