An industrial dry cleaners in Sheffield pleaded guilty this month to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, following an incident in October 2004 where an engineer suffered burns and torn ligaments to his back after becoming trapped in a giant washing machine for 20 minutes. The employee was stuck up to his chest in hot water after trying to free a linen blockage in the 12-compartment laundry machine at Abbey Glen on Coniston Road, Nether Edge. The machine, which can take 35kg of washing at a time, was turned off at the mains by a supervisor and the man in question managed to free a blockage in the first compartment. Upon climbing into an enclosed second chamber which was full of water, he began pulling at the laundry and became tangled. His arms were trapped and he was pinned to the hot back wall with the water at chest height. A second worker managed to climb in and free him.
The company were fined the maximum £5,000, with costs of £1,133, for failing to have a rescue procedure in place at the time of the incident. Since the incident, they have implemented stringent safety measures which include extra staff training and a useful new policy which says no employee must enter the machines.
