Ellesmere quarry firm fined £44,000 after worker seriously injured on first day in job
A Shropshire quarry operator has been fined £44,000 after an employee got his arm trapped in moving machinery.
Telford magistrates heard how a new employee of Tudor Griffiths was injured on his first day working at the quarry in Ellesmere on December 9, 2016.
His arm got caught and dragged into the ‘nip point’ between the conveyor belt and rotating tail drum.The worker’s injuries resulted in the need for multiple skin graft operations and has left him with permanent scarring on his arm.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to ensure that the fixed guards were effective to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery, despite this risk having been identified several months before the incident.
At a hearing, Tudor Griffiths Limited pleaded guilty to to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety Executive etc. Act 1974 and has been fined £44,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,866.05.
Prevented
HSE inspector Simon Edwards said “This could have easily been prevented and the risk should have been identified.
“Entanglement in conveyor systems is a significant cause of serious incidents in the quarry industry. Quarry operators should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.”
Tudor Griffiths, managing director of the business which also has a builders merchants in Oswestry, apologised for the incident. He said: “We fully acknowledge our company’s failings in this case and would like to express our regret that the incident occurred
“We have previously had an unblemished health and safety record, and have co-operated fully with the HSE investigation from the very start, admitting our responsibilities at the earliest opportunity.
“We have since introduced additional voluntary improvements to our health and safety procedures at the quarry.”
