Factory incident shows why safety compliance is important
February 8th 15:39 Health and Safety
Companies should make "doubly sure" that all staff members fully understand health and safety procedures when employing people whose first language is not English.
This is the view of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which said it is even more important that firms train staff in regard to health and safety compliance when workers do not have English as their first language.
The comment follows an incident at a Teesside food firm which saw an employee injured when his hand became stuck between the rollers of a cooling conveyor belt.
Following prosecution by the HSE, The Baked Snacks Co was fined £2,400 and ordered to pay £2,000 costs and a £15 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
HSE Inspector Bruno Porter, said: "It appears that at the time of the incident, cleaning work was often done while the conveyor belts were still running, including areas that were not adequately guarded.
"This was a straightforward case of the company failing to address the risks arising from normal operation of this food factory."
