Unguarded machine causes death of employee, company fined ₤157,500
The HSE in a recent conviction has blamed deliberate inadequacies in the health and safety precautions, resulting in the death of an employee working with a pet food manufacturer. The worker died of asphyxiation when heavy machinery fell on him while at work. The court has directed the employer to pay a fine of ₤157,500.
The case is regarding a February 2006 incident, where Mr. Marcus Snow, employed in the factory’s packing department met with an accident when a semi automatic offload machine got blocked. In his attempt to free the blockage, Mr. Snow crept into the machine’s enclosures when a huge pick up unit suddenly fell on him and nailed him down. Mr. Snow succumbed to the pressure of the machine on his chest and died due to asphyxiation.
The machine’s photoelectric guards had been wired out and the interlock permitting access to the machine’s internal parts was disfunctional too. This resulted in access to dangerous parts of the machinery, which ultimately proved fatal.
HSE inspector Janet Hanson said that an investigation into the case had revealed many deficiencies in the machine that were clearly deliberate. She confirmed that the obstructions to entrance into the machine’s inner parts were removed quite intentionally and showed a complete disregard for employee safety. Ms Hanson also expressed concern at the condition of other machinery at the site and the imminent danger that they pose, for which prohibition notices have been served to the employer. Health and safety training for staff and managers can help to reduce the risk of workplace accidents and improve a company’s health and safety culture. Find out more about enrolling onto the nebosh certificate.
She lamented the fact that the price for such careless deficiencies had to be borne by the ill-fated Mr. Snow when the entire tragedy could have been avoided with a little more precaution at the site. She said that with the appalling state of machinery at the site it was only a matter of time before such an incident occurred.
