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A plastics manufacturer, which specialises in the manufacturing of traffic barriers and cones, has been fined after an employee’s finger was severed due to inadequately guarded machinery.
Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 5 November 2018, the 36-year-old employee of Melba Products Limited had been refilling the hopper of a blow moulding machine with plastic granules from bags at their site on Manchester Road, Bury. Work gloves that had been inside one of the bags fell into the hopper and through the guard. Whilst reaching through a large gap in the top of the hopper guard to retrieve the gloves, his middle finger contacted dangerous parts of the blender resulting in it being severed down to the knuckle of his second finger.The HSE’s investigation found that the blender had not been sufficiently guarded to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery. There was a large gap of approximately 4 x 5 inches towards the top of the hopper guard. The injured employee had only been operating the machine for one week prior to the incident.Melba Products Limited failed to carry out a risk assessment of the blender, to put in place appropriate control measures to prevent access to dangerous parts and to implement a suitable system of training and supervising of new starters.Melba Products Limited of Bury, pleaded guilty of breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £125,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,387.HSE Inspector Alex McFarland said after the hearing: “This injury was entirely preventable and could have been avoided by ensuring the machine was being operated safely, with a suitable guard in place. Adequate supervision should also have been in place to ensure the machine was being used safely by newer operatives.“Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.”
from: https://www.shponline.co.uk/in-court/melba-products-limited-fined-after-employee-was-injured-by-mach... -
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Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd has been fined £333,344 and ordered to pay costs of £16,183 after a child was left with life-changing head injuries after being thrown from a ride.
The incident happened at the theme park in North Yorkshire on 30 May 2019. The child was ejected from the Twister ride. North Yorkshire Police responded to a call at approximately 11:30am. A statement released at the time read: “The child was conscious when officers arrived at the scene and has been taken to hospital. His condition is not believed to be life threatening.According to the HSE investigation, the theme park’s procedures for the ride stated that anyone between 1.2m and 1.5m tall must wear seat belts, but the procedure was not always followed. This was proven by CCTV footage and was mentioned in statements by members of the public. On examination of the restraining systems, many belts were not functioning correctly. On several occasions, the final position of the lap bar restraint allowed significant gaps to remain in the containment and did not fully contain smaller passengers.Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Andrea Jones said: “Our investigation found that the theme park did not implement suitable operating procedures and monitoring of ride operators in relation to the ride restraints.“This was an entirely avoidable incident. Several children were put at risk and Lightwater Valley has now been held to account for their failings.”The child’s mother said “the little boy I took to Lightwater Valley that day is not the same boy that woke up after the surgery. I still grieve for my little boy.”At the time of the incident, the theme park issued the following statement: “We can confirm that following an incident on one of our rides this morning, a child is receiving treatment at a local hospital.“We take the health and safety of our visitors very seriously and are committed to providing support to the affected family. We will continue working closely with the HSE and emergency services.“The ride concerned will remain closed until a full investigation has taken place.”In the days following the incident Ian Cunningham, Lightwater Valley’s Chief Executive, apologised to the boy’s family. He said: “Everyone at Lightwater Valley Theme Park is very pleased to hear that the condition of the young boy who fell from our Twister ride is improving.“As a father myself, I can imagine only too well how it must have felt for everyone involved when the incident happened, and in the hours since. Our thoughts and concerns are completely focused on the child and his family at this difficult time.“I would like to say how sorry I am personally for the upset and anxiety that this incident has caused. We are committed to offering our full support to the family.“Establishing the cause of the incident is now in the hands of the authorities — we are co-operating fully with the Health & Safety Executive investigation that is now underway.“Until the investigation is complete it will be too early and inappropriate for us to speculate on any aspect of the incident, or answer any specific questions about it.”Woman killed on same rideIn 2001, a 20-year-old woman was killed on the same ride when she suffered head and neck injuries as two carriages collided.A hearing in 2004 heard that faulty wiring was to blame for the incident. The park’s owners and an electrician admitted breaching health and safety laws and were fined a total of £157,000.In 2017, owners of Lightwater Valley were fined £40,000 after a girl suffered horrific injuries on one of its rides. The five-year-old suffered crushing injuries to her ankle after her leg was caught in a gap between the carriage and the edge of a disembarking platform on a children’s rollercoaster.Earlier this month, SHP reported that a fairground ride inspector had been fined after he issued a safety certificate for a rollercoaster without ensuring he had a crucial safety report for it. The ride at M & D Theme Park subsequently derailed causing serios injury to those on board.
from: https://www.shponline.co.uk/leisure-and-entertainment/leisure-and-entertainment-lightwater-valley-th...
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One person says burning fuel can be smelled from "well over a mile away". -
Washington — Legislation recently introduced in the Senate would temporarily limit COVID-19 liability for employers who comply with public health guidelines and aren’t acting with “gross negligence.”Cornell University Law School defines “gross negligence” as “a lack of care that demonstrates reckless disregard for the safety or lives of others, which is so great it appears to be a conscious violation of other people’s rights to safety.” The school adds that “gross negligence” is more than a simple, inadvertent act.The Safeguarding America’s Frontline Employees To Offer Work Opportunities Required to Kickstart the Economy (SAFE TO WORK) Act (S. 4317), introduced July 27 by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and co-sponsored by 19 other Republicans – including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), would provide liability protection to establishments that employ frontline workers such as teachers, doctors and nurses, among others. Additionally, the bill would limit liability from personal injury lawsuits brought against businesses, schools, colleges, nonprofit organizations or churches. These protections would be effective until Oct. 1, 2024.“These protections would apply to personal injury lawsuits stemming from actual exposure to coronavirus as well as feared or potential exposure,” Cornyn says in a July 27 press release. “This legislation would protect those acting in good faith from being sued into oblivion while ensuring bad actors who willingly put their patients, employees or customers in danger will still be held accountable.”
in a separate July 27 press release, the advocacy group American Association for Justice claims the bill would “give sweeping liability immunity to corporations” and “increase infection rates, make consumers and workers less safe, and prolong the pandemic because businesses will be allowed to act unreasonably knowing they are immune from accountability.”The association adds that the bill “doesn’t address one action that businesses and lawmakers from both parties have been calling for: enforceable, science-based workplace standards to help businesses protect their customers and workers.”At press time, the bill had been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
from: https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20229-senate-bill-aimed-at-limiting-employer-liabil... -
Salem, OR — Oregon OSHA is accepting public comment through Aug. 31 on a draft emergency temporary standard intended to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19.The proposed rule contains multiple provisions that would apply to all workplaces, with specific requirements for those that have “close-in” work activities (e.g., tattooing, massage and hair dressing) and health care activities that involve direct patient care. Among the provisions are physical distancing processes, the use of physical barriers and face coverings, and sanitation policies and procedures. Employers must design workplaces and job tasks so employees can maintain 6 feet of distance from others.For example, in office settings, face coverings would be required when workers aren’t at a desk or are seated in a conference room and when 6 feet of distance can’t be reliably maintained. For shared equipment and high-contact surfaces, employers would have to ensure necessary cleaning and disinfecting supplies are available and the items are sanitized before use by another worker and before each shift.Employers would be required to post Oregon OSHA’s “COVID-19 Hazards Poster” in the workplace, notify employees of physical distancing requirements and how they’ll be implemented, and provide opportunities for workers to offer feedback.For workplaces with 25 or more employees, at least one worker would have to be designated to assist the employer with identifying appropriate physical distancing, proper face covering use and sanitation measures, and then ensuring implementation of the procedures.“We look forward to more review and feedback as we seek to further bolster on-the-job protections for workers against this disease,” Oregon OSHA Administrator Michael Wood said in an Aug. 17 press release announcing the publication of the draft document. “This rule proposal reflects the need to provide both clearer and more stable guidance in the workplace than has been possible during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.”The rule could take effect Sept. 14 at the latest and would remain in effect for 180 days.
Oregon OSHA – which operates under federal OSHA’s State Plan program – announced June 26 it would pursue drafting the temporary standard, which was developed in consultation with the Oregon Health Authority, various stakeholders and technical advisors. The agency is continuing to pursue permanent rulemaking that would provide a structure for addressing potential future disease outbreaks.Virtual public forums are planned to discuss the draft document. To comment on the draft, email tech.web@oregon.gov.
from: https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20232-covid-19-pandemic-oregon-osha-seeks-input-on-... -
Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has awarded about $80 million in federal grants to states and educational institutions in an effort to enhance roadway safety.In an Aug. 19 press release, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao says the awards “represent the highest funding level” for the grants, which will be allocated as follows:
High Priority grants: $45.1 million to strengthen states’ CMV safety efforts, as well as advance technological capabilities.
Commercial Driver’s License Program Implementation grants: $32.7 million to enhance efforts by states to improve the national CDL program.
Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training grants: $2 million to 20 educational institutions to help train veterans for jobs as CMV operators.“This critical funding will support FMCSA’s state and local safety partners, and illustrates the Trump administration’s commitment to reducing crashes and improving safety on America’s roadways,” acting FMCSA administrator Jim Mullen said in the release. “These funds will go directly to where they are needed the most – our states, local communities and educational institutions.”
Mullen will be stepping down as administrator at the end of the month, the agency recently announced.
from: https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20243-fmcsa-awards-nearly-80-million-in-grants -
COVID-19 pandemic: OSHA, CDC and FDA team up on guidance for seafood processing ... (safetyandhealthmagazine.com)Washington â OSHA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration have released joint interim guidance intended to help seafood processing employers reduce COVID-19 exposure among workers, including those at onshore facilities and aboard offshore vessels. -
Washington — Facing a staffing shortage and an increased number of complaints related to the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA must improve the efficiency of its Whistleblower Protection Program, an audit report from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General concludes.The program enforces 23 statutes that prohibit employers from retaliating against workers who report employer violations of various workplace safety, consumer product, environmental, financial reform and securities laws.“When OSHA fails to respond in a timely manner, it could leave workers to suffer emotionally and financially, and may also lead to the erosion of key evidence and witnesses,” DOL OIG states in the Aug. 14 report.An audit conducted by OIG found whistleblower complaints increased 30% during the first four months of the pandemic compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, the WPP’s number of full-time equivalent investigators dropped to 120 from 126 in 2019. As a result, some investigators have as many as 45 open cases – more than double the “optimal” maximum amount of 20, according to the report. OIG recommends OSHA fill these vacancies.The office also recommends the agency continue to assess a triage pilot intended to speed up the complaint screening process and consider extending the program to all regions. The program, set up before the pandemic in Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), is designed to reassign older whistleblower complaints from regions with sizeable backlogs to regions with smaller backlogs.“Whistleblower program officials have not utilized a similar approach during the pandemic to more evenly distribute whistleblower complaints,” the report states. OIG recommends the agency develop a caseload management plan to be able do so.In general, whistleblower cases are assigned based on the whistleblower’s location or where the majority of witnesses appeared to be located. However, OIG points out, many investigations are conducted via telephone interviews and with electronic delivery of supporting documentation,
making distributing caseloads easier.Sign up for Safety+Health's free monthly email newsletters and get the news that's important to you. SUBSCRIBE NOWActing OSHA administrator Loren Sweatt agreed with the recommendations in a response memo dated Aug. 10 and addressed to Assistant Inspector General for Audit Elliot Lewis. She wrote that the agency has processed more than half of the COVID-19-related complaints received to date, with an average screening time of 10 days – faster than the agency’s fiscal year 2020 Operating Plan’s performance measure of 13 days.Sweatt added that the “Whistleblower Investigations Manual” is close to its first published update since September 2011.“In the meantime, the agency continues to issue new guidance to investigative staff, strengthen our collaborative relationships with our partner agencies, and develop new customer service and outreach tools,” she wrote.
from: https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20249-speeding-up-oshas-response-to-covid-19-whistl... -
A powder coating company has been fined after a worker in a factory in Poole, Dorset suffered shattered lumbar vertebrae and had to be kept in a lying down position on his back for two weeks in hospital.Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard how on 27 July 2017, the worker was checking the straps on a wheeled A-frame trolley containing ten 6m long twin wall polycarbonate sheets weighing 34kg each, when the load unexpectedly toppled onto him pushing him to the ground. Colleagues had to lift the sheets off the worker and call for an ambulance.An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that C & R Powder Coating and Welding Fabrication Ltd had failed to ensure the safety of workers, engaged in the transfer and storage of plastic sheeting on a trolley. The investigation found that the trolley was not suitable for the storage and transport of the plastic sheets because it was not sufficiently long enough and had no means for ensuring the straps being used would stay in place.C & R Powder Coating and Welding Fabrication Ltd of 4 – 6 The Wharf Centre, Wharf Street, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV34 5LB pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). The company has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,338.20.Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Berenice Ray, said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out safe working practices and ensuring work equipment is suitable for the purpose for which it is to be used.“Accidents like this can happen with plastic sheets but equally with wood board, steel plate or stone slabs. Any flat profile material should be secured against falling or slipping out as the consequences can be a serious injury or even a fatality.“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
from: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2020/08/07/powder-coating-company-fined-after-worker-suffers-serious-back-i... -
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is contacting businesses in Greater Manchester to make sure workplaces are COVID-secure to help tackle the local outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.HSE is working alongside Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and local public health authorities to support the understanding of any patterns in the confirmed coronavirus cases in the area. Inspectors are out checking workplaces across Greater Manchester, putting duty holders and employers on the spot and ensuring that they are complying with the latest Safer Workplace guidance relevant to their sector.Being COVID-secure means that businesses need to put in place workplace adjustments to manage the risk and protect workers and others from coronavirus. Businesses can do this by following five practical steps:
- Step 1. carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment
- Step 2. develop increased cleaning, hand washing and hygiene procedures
- Step 3. take all reasonable steps to help people work from home
- Step 4. maintain 2m social distancing where possible
- Step 5. where people cannot be 2m apart, manage transmission risk.
from: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2020/08/10/hse-is-making-sure-businesses-in-greater-manchester-are-covid-se... -
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors are busy contacting and visiting businesses in Swindon to make sure workplaces are COVID-secure and help tackle a local outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.After a rise in workplace Covid-19 outbreaks in the town, the government moved Swindon on to its coronavirus watch-list.HSE is working alongside Swindon Borough Council to support the understanding of any patterns in the confirmed coronavirus cases in the area while reassuring the local community.Inspectors are out checking workplaces across Swindon, putting duty holders and employers on the spot and ensuring that they are complying with the latest Safer Workplace guidance relevant to their sector.Being COVID-secure means that businesses need to put in place workplace adjustments to manage the risk and protect workers and others from coronavirus. Businesses can do this by following five practical steps:
- Step 1. carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment
- Step 2. develop increased cleaning, hand washing and hygiene procedures
- Step 3. take all reasonable steps to help people work from home
- Step 4. maintain 2m social distancing where possible
- Step 5. where people cannot be 2m apart, manage transmission risk.
from: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2020/08/12/hse-is-checking-businesses-in-swindon-are-covid-secure/?utm_sour... -
Brebner and Williamson Limited has been fined following an incident where John Niven, a self-employed subcontractor fell 15 feet from a youngman board, which had been used to create a temporary platform. He sustained multiple fractures and a brain injury.
Perth Sheriff Court heard that on 29 July 2016 Mr Niven was working on a new build at Plot 1, Station Road, Crook of Devon, Kinross. A youngman board was used to create a temporary platform to give access to the roof in an area without scaffolding. Mr Niven was standing on the youngman board when it slipped, causing him to fall onto a concrete floor slab below.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Brebner and Williamson failed to properly supervise the work at height, to ensure scaffold surrounded the full perimeter of the house under construction, and to ensure a suitable working platform and fall protection measures were in place.
Brebner and Williamson of St David’s Drive, St David’s Business Park, Dalgety Bay, Fife pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005, Regulation 4 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 and were fined £5,000.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Gillian Anderson said: “Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work-related fatalities and severe injuries in this country and the risks associated with working at height are well known.
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
from: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2020/08/14/a-building-contractor-was-sentenced-after-a-subcontractor-sustai... -
Leeds and Bradford Boiler Co Ltd was sentenced for safety breaches after a worker broke his upper arm and suffered crush injuries to his lower arm in a workplace incident.
Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard that on 2 November 2018, Paul Madarasz was machining a two-tonne metal plate on a vertical borer machine. The metal cover plate was not sitting flush on the table due to some dirt or debris. He raised one side of the metal plate above the machine table using an overhead crane with C shaped hook so that he could clean the machine table underneath with a rag.
While he was doing this the cover plate slipped off the lifting attachment trapping his arm underneath. Mr Madarasz has had to undergo several long operations on his lower and upper arm and is unlikely to regain full function in his right arm.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there was no safe system of work for this activity. This specific lifting operation and cleaning activity had not been assessed, which resulted in employees using a variety of unsafe methods.
Leeds and Bradford Boiler Co Ltd of Beechwood Street, Stunningly, Leeds pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company has been fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £7,692 in costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Andrea Jones said: “Lifting operations and foreseeable activities including cleaning should be properly assessed and planned. “Other employees were also at risk of injury by falling metal plates.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by using suitable lifting accessories, implementing safe working practices, and ensuring these are followed through appropriate supervision and monitoring.”
from: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2020/08/19/company-fined-after-worker-suffers-serious-crush-injuries/?utm_s... -
Are risk assessments encouraging unsafe behaviours? Tony Roscoe, Head of Consulting Services at Anker & Marsh, looks at human behaviour and whether people take greater risks because a risk assessment has been completed.
Working with SHE professionals, almost daily I meet people who are frustrated with other people’s behaviour, especially when it comes to safety. They feel that they have done everything to keep people safe and that ‘they’ won’t follow basic instructions and stop taking risks.There are many reasons that people take risk at work, I want to explore one that is not often discussed.The idea for this article came from a recent discussion on LinkedIn about risk and risk assessment. As with many things in safety, risk assessment is a logical process that is then applied by less than completely logical people.Are risk assessments encouraging unsafe behaviours?
One of the ways in which risk assessments break down is when it comes to human behaviour and people taking greater risks because a risk assessment has been completed.This sounds like an oxymoron. People take more risks because we’ve done risk assessments!Yes, unfortunately this is true. The answer isn’t to not do risk assessments, but to understand why they are taking the risk.Many years ago, I remember watching an episode of CSI Las Vegas, which involved a car crash and as this show tended to do, they wove some science into the storyline. In this case the science was The Peltzman Effect. This made me curious and I started to look into it, to understand its implications for safety.The Peltzman Effect is a theory which states that people are more likely to engage in risky behaviour when security measures have been mandated.Sam Peltzman is an economist who noted that the more safety that was mandated in cars e.g. mandatory seat belts, the more unsafe behaviours people performed in cars.So, in effect, the safer we make people feel, the more risk that they take.Safety cultureThis is the conundrum I see every day in safety. It is at the core of the frustration of pretty much every SHE person I have ever met.We take a person and make them feel invincible by covering them head to toe in PPE and giving them a mountain of paperwork, and their response is to take greater risks. In effect, the risk assessment has made it a little more likely that people will take a risk.How do we overcome this?Much of this, as with most things, comes down to culture.The key word in the definition is ‘mandated’. This is where safety is seen as something that is done to people, something that they have little or no control over.It is no surprise then that organisations with mature cultures based on communication, servant leadership and continual improvement have excellent safety records, because safety is not seen as being done ‘to’ people, but ‘with’ people.Whilst we continue to do safety to people, then the harder we work as SHE professionals, the more risk that they take, and around and around we go.
from: https://www.shponline.co.uk/culture-and-behaviours/are-risk-assessments-encouraging-unsafe-behaviour... -
A new smart card identification system for road workers has been launched. The system uses technology to reliably deliver and capture real-time information when and where it is needed.
The highways passport system, endorsed by Highways England, comes from the same companies behind Network Rail’s Sentinel Safety Solution and service and HS2’s Validate Safety Scheme, namely Reference Point and Mitie. The system went live on 1 August 2020.Reference Point provides the technology; Mitie holds and manages the data.The system is designed to monitor the workforce on highway projects, keeping track of credentials, training recordS, qualifications and right to work.As well as receiving a physical smartcard, a virtual card can also be generated for any worker, which they can store on their own mobile device.Passport is the brand name of the Validate system, supported by Mitie, when used on highways. It uses Reference Point’s SkillGuard system.Reference Point described the new Passport system as “a major software upgrade to the solution that we already provide”.The same company also provides the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card software. “We have plans in place to discuss ‘linking schemes’ to help avoid and manage fatigue,” a spokesperson said.
from: https://www.shponline.co.uk/road-safety/highways-passport-system-goes-live/ -
‘Face mask’ found inside McDonald’s chicken nugget
The BBC has reported that a six-year-old girl discovered a blue surgical face mask inside a McDonald’s chicken nugget at its Aldershot branch in Hampshire.McDonald’s said food safety is of the “utmost importance to us” and said the company places great emphasis on quality control, following “rigorous standards to avoid any imperfections”.A spokesperson said: “As soon as we were made aware of the issue, we opened a full investigation with the relevant supplier, and have taken action to ensure any product from this batch is removed from restaurants.“We would like to offer a full apology to the customer in question and understand they are currently in conversation with our customer services team.”Indian restaurant fined £17k after rat infestationTiffins Tandoori in Abingdon has been prosecuted by Vale of White Horse District Council for five offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations at Oxford Magistrates’.The defendants pleaded guilty to all five offences and were ordered by magistrates to pay £3,000 for each charge and costs of £2,211.26 and a victim surcharge of £181.Environmental health officers from the council carried out an unannounced routine food hygiene inspection in October 2019, during which they discovered evidence of a rat infestation in both inside and outside food and equipment storage areas.Rat droppings were found on equipment, including a frying pan, while there was also gnawed food and gnawed food packaging.There was also a large hole which had been created by the rats in a food storeroom.Officers subsequently served a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice, which prevented the restaurant from using the storage areas.Pub landlord ‘complacent’ in enforcing COVID-19 regulationsThe landlord of the Crown and Anchor pub in Stone, Staffordshire has said he was “simply not strong enough” in enforcing government rules. The pub has been linked to an outbreak of coronavirus in the area.Custodio Pinto said he regretted being “complacent” in enforcing regulations with customers.Twenty-two people linked to the pub have tested positive for COVID-19, out of around 1,000 people who underwent tests after Staffordshire Police said it visited the site following social distancing concerns.Irish police find 24 pubs in breach of coronavirus guidelinesA total of 24 pubs in Ireland were found in breach of COVID-19 safety guidelines by the gardai as part of a targeted operation, named Operation Navigation.Many of the breaches were due to no evidence of food being served or consumed and no evidence of receipts to show that food had been sold.The incidents of non-compliance with health regulations and licencing laws were found between 27 July to 3 August.Some 105 pubs have been found to be in breach of safety guidelines since the start of Operation Navigation on 3 July.
from: https://www.shponline.co.uk/food-safety/food-safety-round-up-face-mask-found-inside-mcdonalds-chicke... -
A concrete manufacturer has been sentenced for safety breaches following two separate incidents including the death of an employee and series injuries to a second worker. A number of electrical safety failings were also found.Treanor Pujol Ltd employee Mathew Fulleylove, 30, was operating a mobile saw unit on Line 12 at the factory in Stourton, Leeds, while another employee was operating a mobile bed cleaner on Line 11. Mr Fulleylove was standing on the footwell of the saw unit as the other machine passed on the adjacent production line. As the bed cleaner came past, Matthew’s head was crushed between the frames of the two machines and he was killed instantly. The incident happened on On 5 June 2014 .The HSE’s investigation found that it was the nature of production for machines to routinely pass each other on adjacent lines. On lines 11 and 12 the gap between the passing bed cleaner and saw machines was very small – between 65 and 93mm at different parts of the frames. It was identified that Treanor Pujol Ltd failed to identify the risk of crushing posed by the passing machines; failed to devise a safe system of work to control this risk and failed to provide adequate training in such a procedure to employees.On 12 April 2018, in a second incident, a 47-year-old employee was operating a hooks machine, which embeds hooks into precast concrete when a fault developed during the operation. While attempting to reset the machine his elbow leant on a concrete dispenser box and a metal shutter designed to close off the flow of concrete. The metal shutter closed, trapping his hand resulting in a fracture and partial de-gloving of his left hand.Investigating, the HSE found that the machine was not fitted with working interlocks, meaning several of the machine doors could be opened to gain access to dangerous moving parts whilst the machine was operating.Risk of serious injury or deathIn the early stages of the investigation into the incident involving Mr Fulleylove, HSE inspectors also noticed several electrical safety concerns with the equipment in the manufacturing shed. Inspectors carried out numerous visits between 2014 and 2018 and discovered further failings, one of which related to electrical equipment not being suitably constructed or protected from the environment. It was left in wet, dirty, dusty and corrosive conditions, which resulted in rapid deterioration and safety features becoming inoperable over time. This exposed employees to a risk of serious personal injury or death.Treanor Pujol Ltd of former Bison Works site, Pontefract Road Leeds pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, and breaching Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 by failing to comply with Regulation 6(c). The company has been fined £285,000 and ordered to pay costs of £56,324.97.After the hearing, HSE Inspector Kate Dixon said: “Treanor Pujol Ltd should have identified the risk of crushing between passing machines on the production lines. The company should have taken steps to reduce and control the residual risk, organising production to minimise the likelihood of machines passing each other on adjacent lines, as well as devising and implementing a safe system of work.“This should have included a designated place of safety where operators were required to stand as a machine passed. The operator’s manual for the bed cleaning machine stated an exclusion zone around the machine at 655mm should be implemented. If this had been in place, it would have addressed the significant crushing hazard and prevented the death of Mr Fulleylove.”Ms Dixon added: “In regard to the second incident, the company should have ensured that the dangerous parts of the Hooks Machine could not be accessed by anyone whilst they were moving by way of suitable guarding arrangements.“Duty holders should ensure they carry out site specific risk assessments to identify any issues relevant to a particular location, task or piece of equipment. It is important to ensure where safe systems of work are required, employees are properly trained and monitored to ensure the correct way of working is followed.”
from: https://www.shponline.co.uk/in-court/manufacturer-fined-after-an-employee-died-and-another-worker-se...
