Health and safety is a vital part of management in any workplace, but there is no question that the level of danger varies. Anything that involves working from height or dangerous chemicals, for example, is much more dangerous than the typical 9-5 office job.
Another category is when machinery is in use. In many cases, staff may have little or nothing to do with tackling the internal moving parts of a machine, meaning any risks are small. But anytime there is the danger of being exposed to something that can cut, trap, stroke, or crush a person or any part of their body, all steps must be taken to eliminate risks.
A prime example of this is when a machine needs to be cleaned and has dangerous moving parts. The correct way to proceed is to turn off the power and ensure it cannot be turned on again until the job is done. Health and safety training will highlight the need to make machines safe like this.
The consequences of failing to do so were highlighted in the case of a bakery worker who lost a finger when a machine he was cleaning switched on – something that should have been rendered impossible before he began the task. This led to the bakery being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive.
In this case, the safety guards were removed to allow the worker to access the inside of a flour sifting machine to attempt to clear a blockage. Because the machine had been switched back on, his hand was caught in a pulley and the damage caused him to have part of his middle finger amputated.
The bakery admitted in court to failing to meet its obligations under section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and had to pay more than £370,000 in fines and costs.
At the heart of the failure was the fact the company had not established a safe working system for situations in which machinery needed to be unblocked. In such a scenario, they needed to have in place a means of ensuring the device was isolated from any power source so it could not be switched on, known as a ‘lock out tag out’ procedure.
Notably, engineers at the bakery had not been given training on how and when to do this – a prime example of how the right training is essential to prevent catastrophic safety breaches from occurring and what can happen otherwise.
HSE inspector Rebecca Gibson said after the case: “If an appropriate ‘lock out tag out’ procedure had been produced and implemented and with suitable training, the serious injury would have been avoided.”
This case is far from the only one where such a failure to ensure machinery is safe has led to life-changing injuries and huge fines for employers.
In August, a multinational food company was fined £360,000 after one of its workers lost four fingers when his hand came into contact with unguarded rotating blades while trying to unblock a machine at its plant in Glasgow.
HSE inspector Hazel Dobb said the incident “could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.”
If you’d like to build your health and safety knowledge further, our NEBOSH General Certificate course is a great place to start. It’s designed for anyone looking to develop practical skills and gain a respected qualification in workplace safety. To find out more, get in touch with the ACT team today.
