Baker severs finger inside unguarded machine
Jun 21, 2010
A baker lost part of his left index finger in an unguarded dough mixing machine whilst he was adding ingredients to bread mix.
The Magistrates’ Court heard that the injured employee had been using a spiral mixing machine to make dough when the incident took place. As he tipped the ingredients into an unguarded machine his hand made contact with the rotating beater at the bottom of the bowl. If there had been a guard in place he would have been unable to do so. The machine’s guard had apparently been missing for a considerable length of time. If the guard had been in place it would have been interlocked so that the machine would have stopped when the guard was lifted to tip in the ingredients.
The company appeared in court and pleaded guilty to a breach of reg.11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) by not preventing access to dangerous parts of machinery. It was fined £3500 and ordered to pay full costs of £2926.
This incident could easily have been avoided. The hazards associated with this type of machinery are understood within the food manufacturing industry and there is clear guidance on the guarding standards that should be followed. There were clear failings on this occasion as, had the guard been fitted to this machine then the employee would never have suffered these injuries.
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