A skip hire, waste and recycling business in Scotland has been fined £24,000 after a worker sustained serious injuries to his left hand and forearm.
Barry Edward Pae, an employee of W M Russell & Sons Limited, was injured while he attempted to change the blades of a rapid granulator machine on 9 April 2021.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Pae sustained “serious and irreversible” injuries, including an open fracture to his left wrist. His left index, middle and ring fingers were completely amputated.
An investigation by the HSE found that the company failed to provide a safe system of work for changing the cutter blades.
This included a failure to provide sufficient information, instruction, and training on how to isolate the granulator when changing the cutter blades or carrying out other maintenance.
If a safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the life-changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.
Russell & Sons of Lilliehill, Dunfermline, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work and were fined £24,000 at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on 30 May 2024.
Speaking after the case, HSE inspector Laura Dempster said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to provide a safe system of work for their employees and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training on that system.
“If a safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the life-changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”
