The reminder came in the wake of the prosecution last Friday (October 20) of Jack Moody Recycling Ltd after an employee was left with life changing injuries after he was struck by a moving machine in 2014.
Shrewsbury Crown Court heard, said the HSE, that on 5 December 2014, the employee was working as a litter picker at Lodgewood Farm, Telford, when he was struck by a shovel loader as he was standing next to a brick wall on the site.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the loading shovel driver initially thought he had just hit the wall and had not realised he had struck someone. The driver climbed down from the cab to check for damage and found the employee badly injured on the floor.
The worker was air lifted to hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. He was released from hospital on Christmas Eve, having lost both legs just below the knees.
Guilty plea
Jack Moody Recycling Limited of Hollybush Farm, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £17,641.62.
The Telford site today processes about 25,000 tonnes of waste and virgin wood as well as composting over 30,000 tonnes of green waste compost for the production of 10 mm PAS100 compost for the growing media market.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector David Kivlin said: “This is a heart-breaking story where a worker suffered horrendous injuries.
“It is vital that organisations have proper risk management in place when pedestrians and large industrial machinery are working closely together.
“The waste and recycling sector, which is made up of around 120,000 workers, has a statistically higher rate of workplace injury and work-related ill health than other sectors.
“In trying to address this issue, HSE is currently in the middle of targeting the sector with an inspection initiative that will look at certain activities to ensure effective management and control of risk.
“We are calling on anyone working in the industry to take the time to refresh their knowledge of our advice and guidance, available for free on our website.”
Tragic
Robert Moody, managing director Jack Moody Recycling, said that the incident was a “very tragic matter and that the employee was so involved with the business that he was almost a family member”. He added that the company had procedures and risk assessments in place at the time of the incident and that these have been and are updated, with a lot of attention paid to this side of the business.
Related links
HSE – waste sector advice
Jack Moody Recycling
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