Avoidable incidents caused permanent damage to staff

A lack of safety training and guarding left two workers with severe injuries. The first incident, described by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) as “wholly avoidable”, was followed by another within a couple of weeks. What makes this more remarkable is that the incidents were completely unrelated, although both resulted in damage to and loss of fingers.

At the centre of HSE’s investigation was the employer, a plastic sheet supply company based in Leeds. HLN Supplies, legally known as Commercial Lines Ltd, ended up pleading guilty to breaching the law:

• Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 which mandates that employers should ensure, “so far as is reasonably practicable”, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.
• Regulation 3(1) The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 which requires employers to make a “suitable and sufficient” risk assessment.

 

A lack of machine guarding leads to amputations

HLN Supplies employee Angela Morrison, a plastics fabricator who had worked for the company for almost three decades, was trying to clear a blockage on a sanding machine. She placed her hand into a ventilation port, which resulted in significant damage to her fingers from a large spinning metal disk.

Unsurprisingly, Angela immediately went into shock, although she did not feel any pain. Just under an hour later, she was operated on by medical staff at a nearby hospital. Doctors had to remove the remains of her middle finger on her right hand. Another finger was also heavily damaged, to the point that it will now also face amputation.

“I am naturally right-handed, so everything is now much more difficult”, said Angela, who was 61 years old at the time of the casualty. “You don’t notice it until you go and do something and then you realise you can’t. Little things like opening the oven or getting out change in my purse.”

“When I think about the accident, I just keep thinking ‘if only it didn’t happen’ or if I’d done something differently. I just want to turn the clock back. I have been off work since, but my long-term hope is to get back to work, even if it’s an office job.”

This avoidable incident occurred on 12^th August 2024, but a mere ten days later, another worker severely damaged their hand at the site.

An unguarded table saw leads to a similar life-altering injury

A 57-year-old employee was cutting small strips of plastic with a table saw when his left hand touched the fast-moving blade. He lost part of his index finger above the knuckle due to this incident.

In an echo of the previous catastrophe, the worker later needed essential surgery to remove the top of his middle finger.

The subsequent investigation by HSE provided these conclusions regarding HLN Supplies:

1. The company had not provided adequate guarding on the sander equipment used by Angela Morrison, allowing dangerous parts to be easily accessible.
2. The standard of table saw training was insufficient.
3. No safe work systems were provided to staff for cutting small materials.
4. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment was not in place for the tasks being carried out

 

For overlooking these fundamental standards for worker safety, the plastics firm was fined £16,000 plus £6,534 in costs at Leeds Magistrates Court earlier this year.

The regulations that should have been adhered to

It’s evidently clear that the company was not properly following the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1988 (PUWER). Regulation 11 of PUWER requires the employer to apply effective measures which prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery or stop their movement before a person reaches the danger zone. The hierarchy starts with fixed guards where practicable, followed by other guards/protective devices, then jigs, holders or push-sticks where appropriate.

Regulation 9 of PUWER stipulates that people using work equipment should have received adequate training, including the methods of use, risks and precautions.

These unfortunate incidents reinforce the need for companies to regularly assess their equipment for adherence to PUWER. Here at Machinery Safety & Compliance Services, we offer free on-site pricing visits for UK-based companies needing PUWER assessments.

A condemnation from HSE

The injuries sustained by the workers will, of course, have impacted them. Their physical suffering and mental anguish won’t have been diminished by court-mandated fines.

“For this company to have not one but two completely avoidable incidents in such a short time shows systemic health and safety failings”, concluded Gavin Carruthers, an inspector at the HSE.

“Both workers have been left with injuries that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The fact one of those hurt was a much-loved grandmother who had worked at the company for nearly three decades makes these failings all the more stark.”

“If proper guarding, training, and safe systems of work had been in place, then these two workers would not have sustained such life-changing injuries.”