FFP, a subsidiary of AM Holdings, was fine £8,000 and ordered to pay £2,046 in court costs after the company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which states that employers must ensure, where reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all his employees.
The prosecution followed a serious accident in September 2011 in which employee Gary Dean attempted to remove some residue from inside a glue laminating machine, from which the safety guard had been removed.
On attempting to scrape away the residue Dean’s hand became stuck in the machine and the skin of his left palm was torn away.
Following the incident Dean was hospitalised for two days and unable to work for a two and a half month period during which he underwent physiotherapy.
A subsequent HSE investigation revealed that Dean had removed the laminator's safety guard six years earlier.
Consequently from November 2011 the HSE issued FFP with three improvement notices with which the company has since complied. The first required FFP to review its training plan revising risk assessments and a safe system of work, the second required improved guarding provision and the third insisted that the company offered ‘competent person’ training to enable the company to properly manage its health and safety responsibilities.
Following the verdict Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Sam Thomson said that the incident had been "entirely preventable".
She added: "Guards are placed on machines for good reason and should not be removed for convenience. The fact that the offending guard had been missing for a number of years is particularly disturbing.
"Hand injuries from printing and laminating machines are a well known risk within this industry, and the company had been given previous advice on similar guarding matters. So measures should have been in place to protect Mr Dean and other workers."
FFP’s technical manager Martin Anderson, who started with the firm a month prior to the accident, said that he felt the company had made "great strides forward" since the accident.
He added: "We have improved the health and safety of our workforce and introduced new systems and training programmes. It has had a positive effect on the whole team here, we’ve introduced ‘toolbox talks’ and we have an open door policy where staff can come and voice any concerns they have about things they may consider unsafe practice.
"Overall it's really improved awareness and perception of health and safety."
