One of the UK’s most well-known food manufacturers was sentenced
on 1st October 2015 after a worker suffered severe injuries
while working on one of its production lines.
Baxters Food Group appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court after a
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found safety failings related
to the incident.
The court heard that on 30 January 2014, short term contract
worker Jodie Cormack, climbed onto the conveyor belt to clear potatoes into the
auger in-feed, but slipped from the belt into the collecting hopper.
His body was pulled into the auger and he was trapped for an
hour while orthopaedic surgeons and other emergency services battled to free
him. Once freed, he was flown by air ambulance to Raigmore Hospital in
Inverness for emergency treatment.
His right foot was partially amputated and he underwent a number
of operations including the insertion of a metal plate and screws. However, his
left foot could not be saved and he underwent a below the knee amputation of
his left leg. He now wears a prosthetic leg.
The incident occurred within the steam peeling department at
Baxters’ site in Fochabers. The department is the initial preparation line for
vegetables for soup production.
The Sheriff was told that on the steam peeling line, the various
different types of vegetables needed to be kept separate. To move the last few
vegetables of the batch, operators used a ladder to access the conveyor belt
and then used a squeegee to push the vegetables over the end of the conveyor
into the auger.
On that day, as the batch of potatoes came to an end, Mr Cormack
put the squeegee over the edge of the hopper and once he’d stopped the conveyor
belt climbed onto it to retrieve the squeegee to push the remaining potatoes
off the conveyor belt and into the auger.
At this time the conveyor belt was switched off but the auger
was still running. Mr Cormack approached close to the end of the conveyor belt
and as he turned to go back and collect the last of the potatoes his left foot
slipped and was pulled into the auger.
The court heard Baxters failed to make a suitable and sufficient
assessment of the risks to which workers were exposed when they were engaged in
the task of clearing vegetables from the conveyor belt. It also failed to
reasonably provide and maintain plant and a system of work for the task that
was safe, and failed to provide such information, instruction, training and
supervision as was necessary to ensure, the health and safety at work of
employees carrying out that the task.
The court also heard that the company was recently prosecuted
for a previous accident in which a worker received hand injuries when his
fingers were drawn between the rollers of a conveyor.
Baxters Food Group Limited of Highfield House, Fochabers, Moray
admitted breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1) (a) of the Health and Safety
at Work etc. Act 1974 at and was fined £60,000.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Penny Falconer said:
“This tragic incident was entirely avoidable. Augers are known to be the cause
of serious accidents when limbs are drawn in.
“Baxters Food Group should have been aware of the risks involved
in clearing the conveyor and the precautions that needed to be taken to prevent
access to the auger.
“It is clear that supervisors and management had not considered
how this task was being done.”
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