Summary
WEPA Professional UK Limited, a tissue manufacturer based in Blackburn, has been fined £60,000 following a serious workplace accident on 31 March 2024. A 24-year-old lead machine operator suffered crushing injuries to his right hand while attempting to clear a tissue blockage from a machine’s rollers. The injury occurred when the worker instructed a colleague to “jog” the machine—moving it in small increments—while his hand was still in the danger zone. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Analysis
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed a significant failure in the company’s safety management systems. While machine blockages were a routine occurrence—happening two to three times daily—there was no safe system of work established to clear them. Most notably, the company’s own 2021 risk assessment had identified the need for formalised operating procedures, yet management failed to act on this for three years. This incident underscores the critical importance of safe isolation and “lock-off” procedures, which ensure machinery is completely de-energised before any manual intervention. The prosecution serves as a reminder that identifying risks is insufficient if a business fails to implement the necessary controls to mitigate them.
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