A grain frim in Northamptonshire have been fined after they were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive. Roman Banach lost three fingers and his thumb while he was working with a mixer in August 2011. While he reached into the chute his hand touched the blades inside which resulted in the injuries. Nearly two years later Mr Banach still has a lot of pain and is unable to work.

The case was heard at Wellingborough Magistrates Court on March 26 2013. Genteel Associates pleaded guilty to the charged of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. The investigation that followed the accident showed that the firm had not ensured that the machine was properly guarded. The guards would have stopped Mr Banach from being able to touch the dangerous moving parts inside the chute.

Multiple Problems were Discovered

In addition to the lack of guards inside the mixer that Mr Banach was using the inspectors also discovered two other machines without the necessary guards in place. As a result of these discoveries the company was served with three Prohibition Notices for each machine. They also had three Improvement Notices handed to them. The improvement notices were to introduce a system to check the guards, to ensure they received competent advice for their health and safety management and to protect workers from risks caused by being exposed to grain dust. Grain dust is a known cause of asthma and therefore needs to be controlled. Finally the company were also given a notice as they were not protecting the employees from the risks of noise.

After pleading guilty to the charges the firm, Genteel Associates, were fined £18,000. Court costs of £12,776 must also be paid by the company.

Seek Professional Help

Health and safety consultants are able to provide assistance for the health and safety management for any company, big or small. All firms have to be aware of the steps that need to be taken to protect workers as they go about their duty. Control measures, risk assessments and protection must be all introduced even if the business is considered to be small. Full compliance must be adhered to and if your management team is unaware of the steps they need to take you must ensure they are trained and being in competent people such as consultants to assist you.

There are many Veritas Consulting Health and safety services for you to make use of. The consultants will be able to inform you of what you need, help you by providing training so you are able to manage your health and safety and provide training for everyone within the organisation. To learn more about how health and safety consultants can help you avoid accidents and prosecution call our team on 0800 1488 677.

About David Cant

David Cant is a Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner extraordinaire. He has a wealth of Industry experience and is the MD of Veritas Consulting. David also Blogs about Health and Safety here Health and Safety Consultants

His aim is to flavour Health and Safety with integrity, served with a side of humour You can find David on - Twitter and Google also Linkedin