A major food manufacturer has been fined more than half a million pounds after a “wholly avoidable incident,” left two workers with “severe and painful scalding injuries.”
Samworth Brothers Ltd, which owns the Ginsters, Soreen and West Cornwall Pasty Co. brands, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and fined £594,000 over significant health and safety failings.
Earlier this month, Birmingham Magistrate’s Court heard that an employee and a contractor both suffered scald injuries while carrying out maintenance work on steam pipework at the food manufacturing giant’s Kettleby Foods factory in Melton Mowbray.
The two workers were splashed by hot water from the pipework as they carried out the maintenance tasks.
One of the men endured 4-5% subdermal burns, while the other suffered 9% subdermal, second-degree burns.
Food giant fined for significant health and safety failures
The court heard that the men had been working to replace a leaking gasket in an isolation valve on steam pipework in the boiler room of the factory. They were undertaking the task from a gentry positioned above the boiler. However, the gantry did not provide access to the specific part of the pipework that they needed to work on. This meant that both men had to step off the gantry and work on top of the boiler itself. As they removed the gasket, they were both splashed with hot water from the pipework.
A subsequent investigation by the HSE found that Samworth Brothers Limited had failed to carry out a risk assessment of the maintenance task and had also failed to document a safe system of work for it.
In addition, suitable isolation and lock-off procedures were not used at the time of the incident, and work was being undertaken at height without sufficient measures in place to prevent falls. HSE inspectors found there was a lack of adequate supervision and monitoring procedures in place at the factory to ensure that expected processes were followed by workers.
Clear guidance provided by the HSE states that adequate planning of tasks requiring isolation includes:
- Preparation and coordination of job documentation such as risk assessments, method statements, permits and isolation certificates
- Proving the integrity of isolations before proceeding with intrusive work
- Ensuring work at height is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people, using the right type of equipment
Significant fine should ‘serve as a warning to employers’
Commenting on the case, HSE Inspector Stacey Gamwell said that Samworth Brothers Ltd “should have known better,” and added:
“This was a wholly avoidable incident which could have resulted in even more serious consequences.
“If Samworth Brothers Ltd had properly risk-assessed the task, they would have identified the need for proper controls for working at height, as well as robust isolation and lock-off procedures, including supervision and monitoring to make sure those procedures and control were properly enforced.
“Their failure led to severe and painful scalding injuries which should never have happened.”
The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. In addition to their £594,000 fine, Samworth Brothers Ltd were also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £5,834, a £2,000 victim surcharge and £6,000 in compensation to the injured employee.
Gamwell hoped that this result would “serve as a warning to employers; when it comes to keeping people safe, HSE won’t hesitate to take action against firms which fall short.”
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