On 24 March 2017, Mr Javeed Ghaffar, an employee at IFG Drake Ltd, was fatally crushed after he became entangled in a synthetic fibre manufacturing machine. He was removing a lap (when fibres stick to the rollers of the machine and begin to wrap around them) from the machine when he became entangled.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered that the machine was not properly guarded and it had become practice for employees to reach around the inadequate guarding in order to deal with issues and remove a lap from the machine.
IFG Drake Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and were fined £366,850, as well as costs of £23,993.
HSE Inspector John Boyle commented: ''This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the company to provide adequate guarding against dangerous parts of the machine. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.''
