Recycling firm fined £118,000 after worker loses arm

Ayrshire waste recycling firm Lowmac Alloys has been fined £118,000 for serious safety failings that left an agency worker with a severed arm. Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard yesterday (6 October 2014) that the worker was acting as a line supervisor when he tried to clear a metal container that had caught on the edge of the conveyor belts pulley on 8 February 2011. He opened an unsecured hinged guard to access the blockage, but his left hand and arm came into contact with the moving belt and the bottom of the pulley – resulting in his arm being severed at the shoulder. The HSE investigation concluded that the company: failed to provide interlocking guarding; failed to provide effective supervision; failed to provide a safe system of work to clear blockages, ensuring mains isolators were locked off; and failed to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks. Additionally, the court was told that the company had been served with a 'Deferred Prohibition Notice' in 2003 by HSE in relation to the lack of guarding on another conveyor belt at the Irvine premises. Says HSE inspector Mark Carroll: "This incident was entirely preventable. Lowmac Alloys had identified there was a high risk of crushing and trapping in the machinery. However, the company failed to provide interlocking guarding to the gate over the conveyor. CRS says yet another accident that could have been avoided. Visit www.crsrisk.com to find out more about our NEBOSH National Certificate in Occupational Safety & Health