£310,000 fine for Prestwick meat company after two workers lose fingers
- Published
A CCTV still from 7 January 2019 shows the worker using the machinery
A Scottish meat processing company has been fined £310,000 after two workers had fingers amputated by machines.
The incidents took place at the Hall's factory in Glenburn Road, Prestwick, which was later taken over by Browns Manufacturing.
The company pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
The two staff members were left permanently disfigured by the incidents.
Moving machinery
The first case happened in August 2016 when a 37-year-old man was working on the lorne sausage processing line at Hall's of Scotland.
He tried to clear a blockage by pushing the meat down into the mincer but lost part of his finger when it came into contact with the moving machinery.
A separate incident took place in January 2019, when the factory was now run by Browns Manufacturing Limited.
A 22-year-old was mixing meat for cocktail sausages.
The machinery involved in the 7 January 2019 incident. The worker's hand entered the gap labelled "discharge opening"
He was moving it to the next machine in the process when he reached through a gap and got his hand caught in the revolving mixer. He was taken to hospital and his middle finger had to be amputated.
The worker had to have physiotherapy and counselling for persistent nightmares after the incident.
'Foreseeable and easily avoided'
At Hamilton Sheriff Court, the company admitted failing to ensure the dangerous parts of the machinery were inaccessible and not providing training for their staff.
They were fined £120,00 for the 2016 incident and £190,000 for the 2019 incident.
In both cases, the workers were not given sufficient training and safety measures were not in place. The company has since made changes to both machines and updated their training procedures.
Alistair Duncan, head of the Health and Safety Investigation Unit, said: "Both of these workers were left permanently disfigured by incidents that were foreseeable and easily avoided.
"Since these incidents, the company has installed guards and interlocks on these machines, as well as improved their training.
"Hopefully this prosecution and the sentence will remind employers that failure to fulfil their obligations can have serious consequences."