Health and safety training required at recycling firm
A recycling firm in Derbyshire received a fine after prosecution due to an employee incident. The employee was crushed by a machine at the Griffon Road depot. The incident happened in 2009, but it has taken this long for prosecution to be completed.
A worker and colleague were trying to clear a block in one of the machines. The machine crushes and shreds car scraps that are recycled. The two were inside the machine when a car that was trapped in the machine slid down and landed on the employee. His abdomen was crushed along with a broken shoulder blade and four ribs. He had to take many months off for the injuries and eventually left the company. The HSE conducted health and safety audits to determine where the problem lay. It was found that no safety system was in place.
Simple health and safety training would have reiterated the importance of a safety system to those in charge of risk management at the recycling firm. The incident certainly could have been avoided had a safety system been in place. The court decided to charge the recycling firm 20,000 pounds for the fine. They also required about the same amount in court costs. Incidents occur at work all too often when they need not happen. Typically it is an issue with property safety being offered by employers, but sometimes it is failure to also train properly. Employers have a duty to make certain all safety protocols are in place.
