The then 31-year-old was assisting colleagues as they attempted to maintain the machine by clearing a blockage at the plant in Corby on 2nd February 2023. Following removal of a guard, as the engineer assisted with the task, he checked the tension of a drive belt and his hand got pulled around the bottom pulley which resulted in the amputation of part of his right middle finger. The engineer was unaware that the machine had been switched back on.
An investigation by the HSE found that Jacksons Bakery Limited failed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all their employees. In this instance there was a failure to implement a safe system of work ensuring that machinery was isolated and then locked off during maintenance work when fixed guards would be removed.
Additionally, HSE found that engineers were unclear on when to isolate and ‘lock out tag out’ machines due to an absence of adequate training and instruction – and the fact that it was custom and practice to not robustly isolate and lock off illustrated an absence of adequate supervision and monitoring.
Jacksons Bakery Limited of Hessle, East Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to contravening a requirement of section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £366,666 and was ordered to pay £5,386 costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Rebecca Gibson said, “This unnecessary incident highlights the duty on employers to ensure that there are robust procedures in place relating to maintenance activities. If an appropriate ‘lock out tag out’ procedure had been produced and implemented and with suitable training, the serious injury would have been avoided.”
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