Tudor Griffiths fined after worker severely injured

Quarry operator sentenced after safety failures resulted in serious injuries to a new employee’s arm

SHROPSHIRE-based quarry operators Tudor Griffiths Ltd have been fined £44,000 after they failed to keep fixed guards in place on moving machinery, causing serious injuries to an employee’s arm.

Telford Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 9 December 2016, a new employee of the company was injured on his first day working at the quarry when his arm got caught and dragged into the ‘nip point’ between a conveyor belt and its rotating tail drum.

The worker’s injuries resulted in the need for multiple skin-graft operations and have left him with permanent scarring on his arm.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to ensure that the fixed guards were effective to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery, despite this risk having been identified several months before the incident.

Tudor Griffiths pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety Executive etc. Act 1974 and were fined £44,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,866.05.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Simon Edwards said: ‘This could have easily been prevented and the risk should have been identified.

‘Entanglement in conveyor systems is a significant cause of serious incidents in the quarry industry. Quarry operators should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimize the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.’