Food manufacturer fined after machinery incidents

A food manufacturer has been fined more than half a million pounds after three of its employees suffered injuries in separate incidents involving machinery.

David Wood Baking Ltd has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) due to the following incidents which took place between June and December 2022:

• 25 June 2022: a woman's arm was drawn into a conveyor belt at the company's site at Lyon Road in Bolton, resulting in her suffering two open fractures and permanent nerve damage in the hand. She underwent three operations nd the insertion of two metal plates to repair the damage;
• 20 July 2022: a man working at the company's site at Sidney Street in Bolton, was injured after becoming trapped in a mechanical mixer as a result of him trying to repair the machine when the lid of the mixer dropped onto his left arm. Neither the supervisor or manager on call were contactable, and the employee was stuck in the machine for around 90 minutes and was eventually freed by the fire brigade. He suffered an open fracture to the arm as well as other fractures and nerve damage in the left forearm;
• 4 December 2022: also at the site on Lyon Road, a woman had a finger severed after her hand became entangled in an unguarded drive belt on a machine she was operating, which also resulted with her left with ongoing nerve damage to the hand.

Manchester Magistrates' Court heard that the company had a history of poor machinery guarding practice, having previously been convicted and fined £858,000 following an incident in 2021, where a 26-year-old employee had to have his right arm surgically removed following an incident with a piece of machinery.

The HSE investigation into the 2022 incidents found the company failed to keep employees safe from risks posed by food manufacturing machinery, and that training was inadequate and monitoring insufficient to rectify issues.

The risk of injury is higher when machinery becomes unreliable and develops faults, or it is used improperly through inexperience or lack of training.

David Wood Baking Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations SI 1998/2306, was fined £573,344, and ordered to pay £12,288 costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Jennifer French, said: "This company failed to keep employees safe from risks posed by food manufacturing machinery. The training was inadequate and the monitoring insufficient to rectify issues".

"It is important for industries to understand the potential dangers arising from the use of, or working near, dangerous machinery".

"HSE will always be prepared to use appropriate enforcement when companies fall short of their duties and responsibilities".