Hull firm in court over worker's injury

Date:

13 September 2012

Release No:

Y&H/164/12

A Hull company has been fined for safety breaches after a worker suffered severe injuries to his hand when it was trapped in a badly-guarded laminating machine.

Agency worker Steven Spencer, 36, had his left hand drawn into the rollers at Excel Laminating Ltd, on Leads Road, as he was feeding paper through the machine. His little and ring fingers were left hanging off and his middle finger was lacerated down its entire length.

Mr Spencer, of Spring Bank West, Hull, had only worked at the firm for three weeks prior to the incident on 29 January 2010. He was in hospital for four days and needed two operations. He still suffers pain and has undergone physiotherapy on his fingers and hand.

Hull Magistrates' Court heard today (13 Sept) that Mr Spencer's hand was trapped between a laminating roller and a board as he was setting up the machine.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the guarding of the laminating rollers was inadequate and didn't prevent access to the crush hazard posed by the roller pairs, or the roller and plasterboard.

Excel Laminating Ltd of Geneva Way Business Park admitted breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and a second offence under Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. The company was fined a total of £2,000 and ordered to pay £5,451 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Mark Welsh said:

"Mr Spencer's painful and debilitating injury should not and need not have happened. The incident was preventable with the provision of an adequate guarding mechanism by Excel Laminating.

"Being drawn into machines because of inadequate guarding - and even a total absence of guarding - happens far too regularly in manufacturing industries. In this case the guarding was insufficient as it didn't prevent access to the drawing-in/crush hazard between the pairs of rollers or the roller and plasterboard.

"The company hadn't properly identified the risks to its workers from the rollers. The importance of robust safeguards to protect workers from getting too close to dangerous moving machinery cannot be overstated."

According to the latest figures, nearly 4,000 people suffered a major injury while working in the manufacturing industry in Great Britain in 2010/11 and 27 lost their lives. Information on improving safety is available at www.hse.gov.uk/manufacturing.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states: Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking.
3. Regulation11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations states: Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken in accordance with paragraph (2) which are effective to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar; or to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar before any part of a person enters a danger zone.

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