Company fined after worker's fingers partially severed in machinery

A biomass company near Glasgow has been fined £129,000 after three of a worker's fingers were partially severed in a machine.

The incident happened at the Daldowie Fuel Plant at SMW Limited's site in Uddingston in June 2023.

Due to radio miscommunication, Garry Roberts, 57, believed high-spinning blades had been turned off.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the company had failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery. SMW Ltd admitted breaching safety regulations.

The shift operator, who had 17 years' experience at the plant, had been attempting to clear a blockage on a surge hopper - a large vessel through which processed material passes at the end of the production line.

The HSE said he had been trying to clear a blockage in a rotary lock valve which contained rotating blades that turn at 25 revolutions per minute. He removed a metal clip and rubber gaiter to gain access to the valve.

Communication with the control room, which operated the valve remotely, was carried out by hand-held radio. There was no line of sight between the two areas, and the radios were subject to interference.

A miscommunication over the radio led Roberts to believe that the rotary lock valve had been turned off.

Believing it was safe to do so, he inserted his right hand into the hopper, where it came into contact with the moving blades.

The index, middle and ring fingers of his right hand were all partially severed.

The HSE found that while the company had a specific safe system of work in place for clearing blockages on surge hopper rotary lock valves - which the man had been trained on as recently as April 2023 – it had failed to ensure that access to the dangerous parts of the machinery was prevented.

At Hamilton Sheriff Court, SMW Limited pleaded guilty to breaching The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulations 11(1) and (2) and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 33(1)(c).

The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £9,000.

Sheriff Kevin McCallum KC said: "The injuries sustained by Mr Roberts were severe and have resulted in permanent disfigurement and permanent, indeed life-changing, impairment and consequences for him.

"Mr Roberts has not worked since this incident. He was previously advised that he would be unable to return to the same type of work."

He said the company had "failed to ensure that access to dangerous parts of machinery was prevented" and that it would have been "reasonably practicable to ensure that access to these dangerous parts was prevented by using a fixed guard."

HSE inspector Nicola Kerr said: "This man's injuries have had a profound impact on his life, and were completely preventable.

"Where workers are required to interact with machinery containing dangerous moving parts, employers must ensure that adequate physical safeguards are in place to prevent access to those parts."

She added: "Relying solely on radio communication to control isolation - particularly where there is no line of sight and interference is possible - is simply not good enough.

"A fixed guard would have been a reasonably practicable measure that could have prevented this incident entirely."