The first incident, on 29 December 2009, resulted in employee James Hardcastle, 32, having his left hand amputated after it became trapped in the rotating knives of an industrial tenderiser.Weeks later, on 4 March 2010, a fellow worker severed the ends of two fingers on his right hand while feeding plastic film into a machine designed to seal food into packaging. Both incidents at Cranswick Convenience Foods, on the Valley Park Industrial Estate in Wombwell, could and should have been avoided according to the Health and Safety Executive, which today (10 February) prosecuted its operating company Studleigh-Royd Ltd for safety breaches. The company, based at the Sutton Fields Industrial Estate in Hull, pleaded guilty to two separate breaches of regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.Barnsley Magistrates’ Court heard that in relation to the incident involving Mr Hardcastle, the tenderiser machine was poorly guarded, with workers able to access dangerous moving parts simply by using a metal object, like a knife, to override a guard interlocked by a magnetic sensor. Bypassing the interlocked guard made it quicker and easier to feed meat into the machine, but in doing so operators put themselves at risk. That was the case when Mr Hardcastle was operating the machine – his gloved hand was drawn into the machine and his arm became trapped between rotating knives. Engineers had to free him by dismantling the machine, but his left hand later had to be amputated. HSE reported that an adequate knowledge and understanding of the requirements covering work equipment combined with a proper risk assessment would have identified the need for improved guarding. The guarding was also deemed inadequate on the sealing machine that injured the second Barnsley worker, who does not want to be identified. He too was able to access a danger zone with his right hand and his fingers were caught between a sealing head. Studleigh-Royd Ltd wasfined £8,000 relating to the offence involving Mr Hardcastle and £6,000 on the second offence. They were also ordered to pay £8,387.70 in costs in connection to both incidents. HSE inspector Alison Crank said: “James Hardcastle will be forever scarred by the horrific injuries he sustained at Cranswick Convenience Foods. The incidents that led to his and another employee’s injuries three months later were completely avoidable. Studleigh-Royd has rightly been held to account for not doing more to ensure its machinery was effectively guarded to protect its workforce. “I hope today’s prosecution serves to remind all involved in food manufacturing that machinery guarding is of paramount importance at all times, and that robust procedures for providing and maintaining effective guarding are necessary in order to identify and eradicate potential risk.” Incidents related to food and drink production account for the majority of all injuries in the manufacturing sector, with injury rates one-and-a-half times greater in this area. For further information on safe working in food manufacturing visit the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/food Caption: The photo illustrates how a knife could be used to over-ride a guard interlocked by a magnetic sensor on the tenderising machine at the Wombwell site – exposing rows of sharp rotating blades. ENDSNotes to Editors: 1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to prevent 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 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: “Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken which are effective, (a) to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar; or (b)to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar before any part of a person enters a danger zone.”3. HSE information and news releases can be accessed on the Internet http://www.hse.gov.uk Media enquiries: Paul Butler, COI News & PR – 0113 346 6088 or [email protected] Out of hours enquiries – 0151 922 1221 Public enquiriesHSE’s InfoLine 0845 3450055 Caerphilly Business Park, Caerphilly CF83 3GGISSUED ON BEHALF OF HSE BY COI NEWS AND PR YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER