Food Production Company Fined After Employee Loses Finger
Jan 1, 2010
A food production company has been fined after an employee lost a finger while cleaning a carrot-dicing machine.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching reg 3 (1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and reg 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, and was fined £30,000 with costs of £16,282.
The incident occurred last year, when an employee was asked to help clean an industrial carrot-dicer without having received suitable instructions. The worker was left unsupervised and began cleaning the machine without being aware of the possible dangers.
During the task the worker put her hand into the discharge chute, where the carrots are sliced before falling onto a conveyer belt. As a result, a finger on the worker’s right hand was severed all the way down to the second knuckle.
The distance guard on the machine was not of the correct size to prevent staff from being able to access the dangerous part of the machine.
This accident could have easily been avoided if the company had put in place an effective risk assessment. This would have identified that the distance guard was not suitable and needed replacing.
The company should also have provided sufficient training and instructions to all its employees that use the machine. It should also have ensured that its workforce was fully aware of the risks and safety measures required when using the device.
