A worker was cleaning the company’s batter system machinery during a night shift at the company’s factory when he tried to remove string dangling from a chute. The guard on the machine wasn't sufficient and his left hand was drawn in and contacted the machine’s rotary valve.
As a result of the incident, he suffered serious injuries and ongoing circulation problems. His index and middle finger were later amputated.
The worker since commented that he wants ‘to use my story as an example to others and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again’.
In its investigation, the Health and Safety Executive found the company had not conducted an adequate risk assessment of the batter machine and staff had not been provided with adequate training or supervision. The HSE inspector said the incident "could so easily have been avoided had the company taken simple steps to guard dangerous parts of machinery and provide employees with suitable training and supervision".
The magistrates court fined the food company finding that it had failed to provide appropriate guarding to prevent access to the dangerous parts of machinery, namely the rotary valve. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, for failing to meet its health and safety duty towards staff and section 11(1) of Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER). The company was fined £700,000 and ordered to pay £6,508 in prosecution costs.
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