Nestlé Fined After Worker Traps Arm in Machine
Nestlé UK Ltd has been sentenced for breaching health and safety regulations after an employee was dragged into a machine on the production line of their Albion Mills site in Halifax.
While observing the operation of the After Eight production machine, the technical operator placed his right hand close to a gap in the machine housing, Bradford Crown Court was told. An emery cloth held in his right hand was dragged into the machine taking his arm with it. The incident happened on 13 February 2016.
The employee was unable to reach any of the emergency stop buttons located around the machine from the position in which he was trapped. He had to be released from the machine by paramedics. He suffered a double compound fracture to his arm, which required surgery.
The HSE’s investigation found the company had failed to prevent access to dangerous moving parts of the machine, namely an ‘in-running nip’. There was a gap large enough to allow access at a belt conveyor entry on the After Eight line.
Nestle UK Ltd of City Place Gatwick pleaded guilty to breaching Reg 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It was fined £640,000 and ordered to pay £26,234 in costs.
Read more on the case from SHPOnline.
‘Exceptionally Hot’ 2020 Concludes Warmest Decade on Record
Global meteorological agencies agree that 2020 was a scorching year but they are divided on just where it ranks in the temperature records. For Nasa, last year is in a statistical dead heat with 2016 as the warmest year. Others, including the UK Met Office, believe it is second in the rankings dating back to the 19th Century. But all the agencies reporting on Thursday agree that last 12 months are part of the warmest decade on record.
Some key facts about 2020 temperatures include:
- The average global temperature across the year was around 14.9C, putting it around 1.2C above the average between 1850-1900
- The 10 years from 2011-2020 were the warmest decade on record
- The warmest six years on record have all occurred since 2015
- The differences between the top three, 2020, 2019 and 2016 are “indistinguishably small”.
Read more from BBC News.
Learn First Aid on TikTok with British Red Cross
The British Red Cross have teamed up with TikTok to help people learn first aid.
Their FirstAidToolkit channel will help you learn life-saving first aid in under a minute in the form of short, snappy videos and advice from British Red Cross educators and TikTok’s popular doctors. The videos cover skills from broken bones to stroke and how your household items can help save a life.
Read more from British Red Cross.
If you are interested in becoming a certified first aider, WA Management are pleased to announce that we are running an open Emergency First Aid at Work training course on 8th February in Coventry. We are running these courses as it is considered essential for many of our customers to have qualified first aid trainers. All guidelines will be followed to ensure the training is delivered COVID-safely. We can also arrange in-house training sessions.
To inquire, please get in touch!