Construction materials firm fined after worker loses arm
A construction materials manufacturer has been fined after an employee at its Barrow-Upon-Soar plant suffered serious injuries.
A 48-year-old employee of Saint-Gobain Construction Products UK had to have his arm amputated following an incident involving a rock handling belt on 13 August 2017, Loughborough Magistrates’ Court heard.
Two employees had been clearing rock that had built up around the belt, but had found it difficult to remove by hand. Both men went to the isolator end of the belt and removed the local isolation with the guards still removed and pressed the “start/stop” button. On checking the tail-end of the drum they saw it had not been cleared. One of the men went to the opposite side of the tail-end drum to remove the rock, which meant the pair were no longer in visual contact. His colleague pressed the start/stop button again, which drew the man’s arm into the rotating drum.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there was no risk assessment or safe system of work in place for clearing rock safely from tail-end drums.
The company, which pled guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, has been fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £12,945.62.
HSE inspector Michelle Morrison said: “This injury could easily have been prevented, had the risk have been identified. Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.”
