Skip hire and waste processing company, J Edwards Waste Management Ltd was sentenced today for safety breaches after a worker was injured trying to clear a blockage in a trommel drum.
Sheffield Magistrates court heard how, on 24 March 2015, the drum of the trommel machine used for sorting material had become jammed and the worker did not turn off the machine before going into the drum to clear the blockage.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that after the individual entered the drum of the machine and cleared the blockage, the machine started to operate and rotate while the employee was still inside. The individual was tumbled around and repeatedly struck by the waste material inside the drum before the machine was stopped.
J Edwards Waste Management Ltd of Lidget Lane Industrial Estate, Thurnscoe, Rotherham pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £30,000 with £3621 costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Laura Hunter commented: “This case highlight’s the importance of isolating machinery before intervening.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply having a safe system of work for clearing blockages after completing a risk assessment”
