Risk, Health and Safety Information

Firms fined after worker loses finger in unguarded machinery

A tin can factory worker had his ring finger ripped off by unguarded machinery while feeding metal sheets onto a conveyor, a court has heard.

Brian Allen, 53, of Aberffrwd, Tredegar, has suffered continuing pain and discomfort and is unable to grip properly with one hand since the incident at Ardagh Metal Packaging at Dragon Parc, Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil, on 25 January 2011.

Both his employer and the company that supplied the machinery, Crabtree of Gateshead, appeared before Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates in proceedings brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The court heard that Mr Allen was feeding the metal sheets into the conveyor of a coating machine when his wedding ring got caught and his finger was severed.

An HSE investigation found that Crabtree had designed the machine with an automatic feeder and not intended it to be fed by hand. Their risk assessment had not foreseen hand feeding and identified the conveyor area as medium rather than high risk. As a result they supplied the machine without a suitable guard which allowed Mr Allen to access dangerous moving parts.

Ardagh failed to identify the risks to workers from the unguarded conveyor, and an Improvement Notice was served requiring the company to make the machine safe.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (UK) Ltd, of Salhouse Road, Norwich, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £11,754 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Crabtree of Gateshead Ltd, of the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, was fined £3,000 with costs of £14,570 after pleading guilty breaching of Regulation 11(1) of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992.

HSE Inspector Paul Cartwright, speaking after the hearing, said:

"Brian Allen sustained a painful injury as a result of an incident that was entirely avoidable.

"Risk assessments by Crabtree identified that the conveyor could cause injury and a warning was included in the operating manual, but they nonetheless supplied the machine without adequate guarding.

"Ardagh, meanwhile, failed to identify the risk despite the practice of hand feeding sheets into the conveyor being well known to operators.

"This case demonstrates the need for employers to carry out their own assessment of the risks posed by machinery, based on the circumstances in which the equipment will be used. It is not sufficient to assume that is safe as soon as it is purchased.

"Involving workers in the risk assessment process is crucial. Had the employees been consulted by either company it would have been apparent that hand feeding of sheets onto the conveyor took place. This would have alerted Ardagh and Crabtree to the need for adequate guarding, which has now been installed."