Glass company in court after employee loses finger

Date:

25 March 2013

Release No:

HSE/M/84/13

A West Midlands glass processor has been prosecuted for safety breaches after an employee's finger had to be amputated when it was crushed in machinery.

Asif Hussain, 32, of Sparkbrook, was helping a colleague free a large piece of glass which had become stuck in a machine at Bloomsbury Glass Limited's factory in Kelvin Way, West Bromwich, on 18 January 2012.

Sandwell magistrates were today (25 March) told that Mr Hussain was able to enter the confines of the machine through a gap in the perimeter fencing. As he discussed how best to remove the glass with his colleague, his glove became entangled in the rotating drive shaft and his right hand was pulled in.

Mr Hussain's ring finger was so badly crushed it had to be amputated in hospital. He has been unable to return to work and still suffers pain and swelling in his right hand.

He can no longer play the sports he used to such as badminton, snooker and cricket and also has problems carrying out basic everyday tasks and household chores.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the machine had not been properly guarded since Bloomsbury Glass relocated to the Kelvin Way site on 5 January 2012.

The firm had employed engineers to relocate its plant but because there had been a significant change in the layout of the machine, the perimeter fencing was not installed. Instead one of Bloomsbury Glass's maintenance engineers modified and installed the guard panels, including the interlocked gates, but left a gap.

Bloomsbury Glass Limited, registered at Quadrant Court, Calthorpe Road, Edgbaston, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was today fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,928.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Amy Kalay said:

"This injury should not and need not have happened. It was easily preventable had Bloomsbury Glass fitted adequate guarding to prevent access to the machine's dangerous moving parts.

"Guards and safety systems are there for a reason and companies have a legal duty of care to ensure they are properly fitted and working effectively at all times. The importance of robust safeguards to protect works cannot be overstated."

Information on improving safety in the manufacturing industry 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 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. The wording of Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2306/regulation/11/made

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