The bottle filling machine. – Image credit: Health and Safety Executive
Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare has been fined for safety breaches after a worker's arm was crushed in a bottle-filling machine.
On 9 September 2017, the 25-year-old worker was attempting to recalibrate the machine at the company’s site in Kingston upon Hull. The machine had not been electronically isolated, and he sustained an open crush injury to his left forearm and tendon damage to the forearm, wrist and hand.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the filling machine had not been locked off by the injured person or a colleague, which would have ensured that the recalibration task could be carried out in a safe manner.
At Grimsby Magistrates Court, Hull-based Reckitt Benckiser pleaded guilty to breaching section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company, which manufacturers brands including Dettol, Harpic and Vanish, was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £8261 in costs.
'Non-routine maintenance tasks must be carried out by trained personnel working to standard safe operating procedures,' warned HSE inspector David Stewart.
'Reckitt Benckiser should have developed a standard operating procedure for the adjustment process, which if implemented correctly along with their lock-off procedure, could have prevented the incident.'