Heinz fined over finger loss at Wigan baked bean factory

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard that the employee was making a new metal part for a baked bean packaging machine when the incident happened. The worker was using emery cloth to polish the component on a metal-working machine while it was rotating, when his gloved hand was pulled in. The court was told that Heinz should have identified safety measures for the work in advance, such as providing an alternative way to polish the metal component so that emery cloth did not need to be used. Heinz pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences, after it failed to carry out a risk assessment for the work or to provide adequate training. HSE investigating officer Deborah Walker says: "This worker … had been employed by Heinz for more than 20 years, but was not given any refresher training on safe working practices in that time. The company also failed to assess the risks of the work he was carrying out, and make sure suitable safety measures were in place." She adds that the risk of emery cloth being pulled into rotating metalworking machines is well known. "Manufacturing companies should make sure [that] employees are following the latest health and safety guidance on this issue," she insists. HJ Heinz Company Ltd was charged with breaching Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. A total of 25 workers were killed and more than 4,000 suffered major injuries in UK manufacturing last year.