ACCIDENT REPORT
IFG Drake Ltd (of Old Mills, Drighlington,
Bradford) was ned in June after a worker
su ered fatal crush injuries whilst working
on a machine at the site in Hudders eld.
Leeds Crown Court heard how Javeed
Gha ar was working on the stretch godet
section of a synthetic bre manufacturing
machine at Victoria Mills, Victoria Lane
on 24 March 2017. He became entangled
in the machine when he was performing
a task of removing a lap from around the
rollers. A lap occurs when bres stick to the
rollers of the machine and begin to wrap
around them.
An HSE investigation found that the
machine was not adequately guarded. It
had also become customary practice for
employees to reach around the inadequate
guarding in place to deal with problems
of this nature. HSE inspector John Boyle
commented: “This was a tragic and wholly
avoidable incident, caused by the failure of
the company to provide adequate guarding
against dangerous parts of the machine.”
Also ned for a similar incident was
tile manufacturing company Spartan
Promenade Tiles Limited (of Martells
Industrial Estate, Colchester, Essex) after
a worker was drawn into the in-running
nip of a conveyor tail drum, su ering three
breaks to his left arm and crush injuries to
his forearm.
Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard
how, on 18 February 2019, the employee
was removing sand from the inside of
a conveyor belt (pictured above) in an
attempt to x the machine at Slough Lane,
Colchester. However, the employee’s left
glove became caught in the in-running nip
of the conveyor tail drum, pulling his hand
and arm into the machine. The emergency
stop button in the building did not work, so
a colleague had to run to another building
to alert the operator at the control panel to
turn the machine o .
An HSE investigation found that the
company failed to suitably assess the risks,
implement a safe system of work, and
control the risks. Employees were also not
trained in the use of isolation or lock-o
procedures for the machinery on
site, nor were employees made aware that
such procedures existed. Furthermore,
there were no arrangements for the
supervision or monitoring of employees to
ensure they were correctly isolating and
locking o machinery before completing
maintenance tasks, and there was no
functioning emergency stop in the vicinity
of the conveyor tail drum. The guard on
the conveyor tail drum had also been
removed when the conveyor was put into
operation.
HSE inspector Connor Stowers
said: “This injury could have been easily
prevented and the risks should have
been identi ed. Employers need to
properly assess and apply e ective
control measures to minimise the risk
from dangerous parts of machinery, and
adequately train their workers to use
isolation and lock o procedures if they
carry out maintenance work.”
Finally, Cargil eld School (of
Gamekeepers Road, Edinburgh) has also
been ned following an incident where a
pupil sustained severe cuts to his middle
and index nger on his right hand and
serious tendon damage when using a band
saw. Edinburgh Sheri Court heard that in
the Construction Design and Technology
Workshop at Cargil eld School, Edinburgh,
between 1 September 2015 and 2
November 2017, pupils made wooden
boxes using a bandsaw which is classed as
a dangerous machine.
An HSE investigation found Cargil eld
School failed to make a suitable and
su cient assessment of the risks arising
out of use of the band saw and failed to
adequately supervise pupils while they
were carrying out tasks using it. The pupil
was making a freehand cut on the band
saw without adequate workpiece support
and was not adequately supervised.
HSE inspector Karen Moran said:
“A bandsaw is considered a dangerous
machine when used by adults, let alone
children. This signi cant and very serious
injury could have been prevented had the
risk been identi ed and properly managed.
All schools should take steps to ensure
the safety of their pupils and HSE will not
hesitate to take appropriate enforcement
action against those that fall below the
required standards.”
BURN INJURIES
Oil re nery company Phillips 66 Ltd (of
Aldergate Street, London) was also
sentenced for safety breaches in May
after two workers in North Lincolnshire
su ered life-changing injuries from an
uncontrolled release of high-pressure and
high-temperature steam.
Grimsby Crown Court heard that the
two workers – one an employee of Phillips
66 Ltd and the other an apprentice – were
re-assembling high pressure steam
pipework following maintenance of a
steam turbine-driven pump on 30 October
2013. However, during the process, they
were exposed to an uncontrolled release
of steam of around 250°C, burning the
lower back and legs of the 53-year-old
employee and the torso, chest, arms and
legs of the 20-year-old apprentice. At the
time of the incident, these injures were
life-threating.
An HSE investigation found a series of
failures with Phillips 66 Ltd’s ‘safe system
of work procedure’. A number of personnel
involved in the implementation of the
company’s safe isolation procedure of the
steam system had failed to complete all
the required checks and veri cations to
reduce the associated risks.
HSE inspector Jarrod King
commented: “Safe systems of work
procedures are in place to ensure the
health and safety of workers. Companies
should ensure that all relevant employees
and personnel who are involved in their
operation and execution are suitably
trained and competent to complete their
roles within the system.”
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Autumn 2020 www.operationsengineer.org.uk 97
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