October 23rd, 2009
A firm in Scotland has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after one of its employees was seriously injured by a piece of machinery.
The unnamed man had been filling a Mobile Explosives Manufacturing Unit at Orica UK in Muirside when the accident occurred in February 2008.
He had been pouring emulsion into the machine when it suddenly blocked. As he reached in to clear the blockage, it unexpectedly started again and the man lost two of the fingers on his right hand.
An investigation by HSE officers found that the plant’s equipment was not properly guarded and there was no safe way to clear blockages that did occur. Orica UK was fined £10,000 for breaching health and safety regulations.
HSE Inspector Colin Hutchinson commented: "This was a serious and avoidable incident. All companies conducting similar operations must learn from this incident by making sure their safety procedures are both sufficient and rigidly followed."
According to statistics published by the HSE, 299,000 reportable injuries occurred at work between 2007 and 2008, resulting in the loss of six million working days.
Tags: Blockages, Colin Hutchinson, Emulsion, Explosives, Fingers, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Orica, Reportable Injuries, Safe Way, Safety Procedures, Safety Regulations, Scotland, Statistics, Unnamed Man, Workplace Accident
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October 15th, 2009
A pet food manufacturing company has been fined £10,000 after one of its employees was crushed to death in a piece of machinery.
John O’Connor, 38, had been working at the Butcher’s Pet Care factory in Northamptonshire and entered a palletising machine to clear a blockage.
However, when he moved the can of pet food that had become jammed, the fully-automated machine restarted.
Mr O’Conor was pulled into its workings and was crushed to death.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that staff should not have been able to access the moving parts of machines, which should all have had guards in place.
Butcher’s operations director Philip Thompson was fined for breaching work equipment regulations and was ordered to pay a fine and compensation.
HSE inspector Neil Craig said: "This was far from being an isolated incident. The unfenced gap between the stair rails had been there for nearly two years."
According to HSE statistics, there were 35 fatal injuries to workers in manufacturing between 2007 and 2008.
Tags: Butcher, Conor, Fatal Injuries, Food Manufacturing, Gap, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Manufacturing Company, Moving Parts, Neil Craig, Northamptonshire, O Connor, Operations Director, Pet Care, Pet Food, Philip Thompson, Stair Rails, Statistics
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October 9th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has fined and prosecuted a company that admitted exposing its workers to hazardous fumes from soldering equipment.
Employees at Turbo Power Systems’ plant in Gateshead had been working for up to five-and-a-half hours a day with rosin solder flux, the fumes of which are known to cause asthma.
The exposure occurred between May 2007 and May 2008 and many employees began to suffer problems with their respiratory health.
As a result, the HSE took the company to court for breaches of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. It was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs after admitting to safety failures.
HSE inspector Andrea Robbins said it had been "entirely foreseeable" that inappropriate risk assessment and control of chemicals would put the workforce at risk.
Rosin is a natural product which comes from pine sap. Fumes from rosin solder flux are a well-known cause of occupational asthma.
Tags: Andrea Robbins, Asthma, Breaches, Chemicals, Control Of Substances Hazardous To Health, Half Hours, Hazardous Fumes, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Health Regulations, Hse, Occupational Asthma, Respiratory Health, Risk Assessment, Safety Failures, Sap, Soldering Equipment, Turbo Power, Workforce
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September 16th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned employers that they must provide safe working environments after a man was killed in a forklift truck accident.
Shaun Porter, 31, was working at Trackline (International) in Northampton in 2007 and was attempting to move a load of material from one side of the factory to another.
There was a vehicle frame in the gangway and although Mr Porter lifted the load to avoid it, he clipped the frame with his vehicle and it overturned.
The victim was crushed and died instantly.
An investigation by the HSE discovered that there was no official gangway in the factory and no marked access routes for employees to use.
HSE inspector Jo Anderson said: "Companies must understand the importance of managing transport in the workplace in order to prevent a tragedy like this happening again in the future."
Additional statistics from the organisation show that there were 35 fatal injuries to manufacturing workers in 2007-08, as well as 5,097 reported major injuries.
Tags: Fatal Injuries, Forklift Truck, Gangway, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Man Health, Mr Porter, Northampton, Statistics, Tragedy, Truck Accident, Vehicle Frame, Working Environments
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August 13th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is investigating following an incident in which 21 people were injured on a fairground ride in Blackpool.
It is thought one of the carts on the Big Dipper ride stopped and was shunted from behind by another carriage.
Several of the people on board were taken to hospital suffering from injuries to their necks and backs, as well as to their faces.
Both the Pleasure Beach authorities and the HSE are now investigating the incident and the ride will remain closed until it can be established what happened.
"It’s very sad for us to realise that some people have been injured and we wish them well and a very speedy recovery," said a Pleasure Beach spokesperson.
Anyone who is involved in a theme park accident and sustains personal injury as a result of a ride’s safety standards being inadequate could be in a position to make a no win, no fee claim for compensation and should seek the advice of a solicitor.
Tags: Authorities, Big Dipper, Blackpool, Faces, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Necks And Backs, No Win No Fee Claim, personal injury, Pleasure Beach, Safety Standards, Solicitor, Speedy Recovery, Spokesperson, Suffering From, Theme Park
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