Workstation risk assessment needed prior to worker injury
A worker became trapped by the arms in a machine that led to severe burns while working at a Leek company. The company manufactures seatbelt and harness webbing. The incident happened in 2011. He was on the night shift at the factory working on webbing that became wrapped around the machine’s rollers. It is clear from the incident that the company could have benefited from a free workstation risk assessment to ensure they were in compliance with safety and health laws. The employee crawled to the top of the machine trying to get the webbing out when his left arm became entangled and drawn into the unguarded rollers. He tried to get his left arm out by using his right arm. This made certain his right arm also was caught.
The rollers were hot and this meant his arms when freed were severely burned with skin damage. The worker was 60 years old at the time of the incident. The HSE examined the incident and found that he and other workers were exposed to peril for over two years due to a failure in the safety systems. It would seem health and safety training UK options might have helped in teaching individuals how to use the machines, but without the proper safety system and failure to conduct a proper risk assessment, it led to the incident. The court has fined the company £5,000with court costs of £5,800 and requested the issue be fixed immediately to prevent further safety problems.
