Category: Health & Safety

HSE Updates & Prosecutions

7th December 2021

A recent HSE prosecution has taken place after a food manufacturing company has been fined for safety breaches after a hygiene operative suffered a serious injury when his hand came into contact with a mixer whilst cleaning the door mechanism, resulting in his index finger being severed.

The findings of the HSE investigation were that; They failed to adequately maintain guarding arrangements on the paddle mixer whilst also having deficiencies with training and supervision. Breaching Section 11 (1) Provision and use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

The company was fined £93,000 and ordered to pay £769 in costs.

Comment made by HSE Inspector following were that “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply implementing the correct control measures and safe working practices.”

Worker injured finger in machinery

9th December 2021

The director of an air conditioning company has been sentenced after a worker sustained a broken back when he fell five metres to the ground.

breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and received a six-month custodial sentence suspended for 12 months. Also required to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £4,886 and a victim surcharge.

HSE Inspector said “Roof work is a high-risk activity and duty holders must ensure they put measures in place to protect against this risk. “Falls from height often result in life-changing or fatal injuries.  In most cases, these incidents are needless and could be prevented by properly planning the work to ensure that effective preventative and protective measures are in place.”

Injury sustained from fall from height

13th December 2021

A sawmill company has been fined for breaching Regulation 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) and Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, after a worker came into contact with the moving parts at the rear of a saw, sustaining injury to his finger.

The company was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,594.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector said: “This injury was easily preventable. Those in control have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers.”

Worker finger severed in machinery

13th December 2021

A company has been fined for safety breaches after a worker’s hand was entangled and wrapped around the rotating shaft on a lathe.

Breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety Act 1974 and have been fined £530,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,548.20

The HSE inspector said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to assess risk and devise safe methods of working in which their employees should then be instructed and trained. Had effective managerial arrangements been in place for the task ensuring employees follow a safe system of work, based upon risk assessment and supervision, information, instruction, and training is provided the life changing injuries sustained by this worker could have been prevented.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards”.

Worker loses hand in lathe

HSE also continues to review & update guidance on control measures for Covid-19 & variants of the virus.

The HSE are carrying out spot check programmes ensuring business are working safely and continuing to reduce the risk posed by COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. Spot-Checks &  Stress and Mental Health

Other guidance to support the management of Covid-19 controls on your sites.

Coronavirus working-safely  

Coronavirus ventilation

Face coverings

Homeworking guidance

Risk Assessment

You can continue to reduce the risk of transmission during the pandemic by taking measures to limit the number of people your workers are in contact with, so each person works with the same, consistent group.

UK government guidance on working safely provides further information and advice on these measures covering a range of different types of work.

You should make sure the measures identified by your risk assessment take account of the public health regulations and guidance for the nation you are working in. Please refer to your relevant guidance:

Inspectors are also carrying out checks as part of their normal role in visiting workplaces to check people are working safely. To ensure we reach as many workplaces as possible nationally and support the core work of our inspectors, we are working with trained and approved partners to deliver the spot check calls and visits.

Slips, Trips & Falls

According to the Health and Safety Executive, slips, trips and falls are the single most common cause of major incidents in UK workplaces, accounting for 29% of all reported specified (major) injuries in 2018/19. 

Legal Duties 

The key areas of health and safety law relevant to slips, trips and falls are: 

• The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA). 

• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. 

• The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. 

• The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977. 

• Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. 

The key risk factors are: 

• Poor lighting that prevents people seeing obstructions, slippery surfaces etc. 

• Damaged or incorrect flooring. 

• Obstructions and objects left lying around. 

• Inappropriate footwear. 

Employer recommendations: 

• Assess the risks to workers, decide how significant the risks are, prevent or control the risks and develop a clear management plan. 

• Consult with the workforce and their representatives about risk assessments and actions. 

• Ensure everyone is aware of the risk assessments and procedures in place. 

Control methods or risk reduction techniques must be used to: 

• Ensure conditions are correct from the start. Ensure flooring and lighting are fit for purpose and have the appropriate surface roughness characteristics. 

• Provide staff with information and training on good working practice. 

• Adopt a programme of planned preventative maintenance and undertake repairs when identified. 

• Where floors may become wet or contaminated, ensure they are regularly inspected and dried immediately. 

• Ensure spillages are promptly cleaned up. 

• Ensure appropriate signage is displayed when areas are being cleaned and removed when the floor can be used normally. 

• Ensure all accidents are investigated and staff made aware of the findings and actions taken. 

£1.5m fine and suspended jail sentence follow care home fall

Care home operator Embrace All has been fined £1.5m after an elderly resident died following a fall down a set of steps. The care home manager landed a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. 

1-5m_fine_and_suspended_jail_sentence_follow_care_home_fall

George Chicken, a 76-year-old resident of the Rose Court Lodge care home in Sutton Road, Mansfield died from severe head injuries days after falling down an unlit internal concrete fire escape in November 2012.

At an earlier hearing in July, the court heard that Mr Chicken, who was intermittently confused and unsteady on his feet, had previously opened fire escape doors to exit the home.

Officers from Mansfield District Council found that Embrace All had no risk assessment for stairway safety, which meant there were no controls to stop Mr Chicken wandering through an unsecured fire door into an unlit stairwell which had no handrail.

Embrace All is part of the Embrace Group, formerly European Care & Lifestyles (UK), which provides residential care and home support to elderly people and adults and children with disabilities, and operates more than 60 care homes. It was charged with failing to protect residents at Rose Court Lodge contrary to s 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The home’s manager Amanda Dean was charged with failing to take care of others affected by her work, contrary to s 7(1) of the act.

Both defendants denied their guilt until four days into the July trial when they pleaded guilty to the charges.

Defence counsel argued that Embrace All was a standalone company. Judge Stuart Rafferty did not accept the argument but decided not to assess the size of the defendant based on the whole Embrace Group’s turnover. He found that both defendants’ culpability was high, with a high risk of serious injury or death. He restricted credit for the guilty pleas, though he did remark that witnesses were saved the trauma of giving evidence.

Embrace All was fined £1.5m and Dean was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years.

The company was also ordered to pay £200,000 and Dean £20,000 towards prosecution costs.

Shortly after Mr Chicken’s fall, the company restricted access to fire doors by fitting keypads.

Source; IOSH