Floor firm fined after worker hurt in machine
10:18am Saturday 2nd March 2013 in News
A FLOORING company has been fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £34,000 in prosecution costs after an employee was dragged into an unguarded machine Polyflor Ltd, in Hollinhurst Road, Radcliffe, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive following the incident at its plant in Radcliffe New Road in Whitefield on May 17, 2011.
The worker was pulled into a conveyor belt, leaving him with a broken arm. He had to be cut free and was off work for seven weeks.
Polyflor Ltd was found guilty of a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 for failing to ensure routine maintenance work could be carried out safely on the machine at Manchester Crown Court.
The jury heard that the 43- year-old male employee was working on a nightshift when a conveyor belt became jammed.
Maintenance workers were unable to repair the fault and guards from the machine were removed so that it could continue to operate. The injured worker was using a spanner to try to stop the belt rubbing when he was pulled into the machine.
A company spokesman added: “Since this accident a total review has taken place to understand the causes and drivers of the this case and to ensure future practices are fully compliant with best practice.”
