Health and Safety Audits Reveal Risks at Egg Firm
A worker lost two fingers at an egg company. The employee was cleaning out a drain that happened to be on the production line when the incident occurred. The incident occurred in 2010, when the worker was 25. The employee lost the middle finger and a part of the index finger of his right hand. The blade on the system at Bumble Hole Foods struck the hand.
Health and safety audits by the HSE revealed workstation risks concerning cleaning. Proper workstation risk assessments did not occur and the cleaning issue ultimately caused harm to a worker. Had things been adequately controlled the incident might not have happened. The court also found a similar incident from 2008 wherein the company was made aware of the dangers. Still, they did nothing to change the situation leading to the incident with the worker in 2010.
A fine of £13,000 has been ordered along with more than £6,000 in costs. The incident was definitely something that one could see coming. Without proper cleaning options, the risk for accident or injury was present. It just happened that a worker had to lose a part of their fingers before the problem was addressed. Instead, proactive measures could have saved the worker his hand, along with the company funds. Safety is the primary issue in the prevention of such workplace injuries.
