A food manufacturing company has been fined for safety breaches after a hygiene operative suffered a serious injury when his hand came into contact with a mixer.

Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard how on 8 November 2019, the employee of Troy Foods (Salads) Ltd had his index finger severed after his left hand came into contact with a mixer whilst cleaning the door mechanism. This was a result of lack of necessary training in which he should have been signed off before working alone.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Troy Foods (Salads) Ltd failed to adequately maintain guarding arrangements on a paddle mixer whilst also having deficiencies with training and supervision.

Troy Foods Salads Ltd of George Mann Way, Leeds, West Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 11 (1) Provision and use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £93,000 and ordered to pay £769 in costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Julian Franklin said: “Better compliance, supervision and training are essential to reinforce safe systems of work.

“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply implementing the correct control measures and safe working practices.”

December 21

Published by the Home Office, this annual report covers key developments across the UK in Modern Slavery in the period October 2020 to the end of September 2022.
The report includes an assessment of modern slavery in the UK and the UK’s existing and future response to modern slavery.

Chapter 1 summarises the strategic response to modern slavery in the UK and current modern slavery trends. A review of the 2014 Modern Slavery Strategy for England and Wales is underway to develop a revised strategy, whilst a new strategy was published in Northern Ireland in May 2021.

According to the report, 2020 was the first time that a year-on-year increase in the number of potential victims referred to the NRM for modern slavery was not seen, thought to be a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions.

In total, 10,613 potential victims were referred to the NRM. 48% of those were adults, a decrease on 2020, and 47% were children, an increase on last year. As in 2019, the most common nationality of potential victims in 2020 was UK nationals, accounting for 34% (3,560) of all referrals. The most common forms of exploitation reported were labour exploitation for adults and criminal exploitation for minors.

Chapter 2 summarises the UK’s response to modern slavery under five key areas of work:
1. Law enforcement and operational response.
2. Prevention.
3. Transparency in Supply Chains.
4. Victim Support and Identification.
5. International engagement and upstream prevention.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2021-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery

Home Office November 2021

This advice comes from the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain. The number of bridge strike incidents in the UK remains alarmingly high, it says. In 2020/21 there were 1624 incidences on the Network Rail infrastructure alone. There are many more incidences of commercial vehicles using inappropriate routes, including not complying with weight limits, which results in damage to roads, congestion and risks the safety of other road users.

In addition to the potentially catastrophic road safety issues, there are serious financial implications to these incidences. The impact on drivers and operators can also be significant. Following a bridge strike in St. Helens, the traffic commissioner held a public inquiry and concluded that the primary cause of the incident was the driver’s failure to carry out his responsibilities in a professional manner. His HGV driver’s licence was revoked, and he was disqualified from holding an HGV licence for six months.

However, the traffic commissioner also found that the operator could have done more to prevent the incident and the operator found their licence permanently curtailed.
One of the reasons for these incidences occurring is poor route planning and the reliance on inappropriate satnav systems, which lack commercial functionality to warn the driver of all the critical points on routes. Whilst satnav technology can be employed effectively and efficiently, the devices used must be fit for a commercial role. Good satnav devices will regularly be updated with up-to-date information on the road network, including height restrictions.

Having suitable satnav equipment is not a substitute for effective route planning, but it may assist the driver to avoid some of these incidences, especially when routes change during a journey.
The traffic commissioners expect operators and drivers to treat this issue seriously and take responsibility. Any failure to do so could lead to an operator or driver having to appear before a traffic commissioner.

To minimise the risk of poor road choices, the advice is to always:

• Make sure your satnav is a commercial vehicle satnav, not one designed for a car. Planning a route on a device that thinks you are driving a car has too many risks. Make sure your device is up to date. Roads and maps are constantly changing. It is your responsibility to plan correctly.
• Make sure that if satnavs are provided to drivers, they are trained to use them and, importantly, the correct checks and procedures are in place to ensure they do! They must know how to set the alarm if they run close to an obstacle.
• Have a satnav policy within your operation. Set rules for use of personal satnavs and ensure they are fit for purpose.
• Don’t assume you know the restrictions on a road, check first.
• Double check on an up-to-date map. You could use Google Street Views to get a sight of an unfamiliar route or junction, including delivery or pick up points. Operators should establish whether there are any localised issues that impact on routes and include this in customer information notes for drivers.
• Know your vehicle height, width and weight, and ensure your drivers do – provide height conversion charts.
• Even when your vehicle is ‘not in service’ your route must still be planned. Taking unsuitable shortcuts back to the depot or when going for maintenance is a risk.

Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain November 2021