A ‘grizzly’ conveyor – with vibrating feeders to help sort the material passing along it – was not fitted with essential edge protection, which ultimately allowed one worker to fall from height, the HSE has reported.
The unnamed worker suffered a fall from a height of about eight feet on May 2nd 2014, sustaining life-altering injuries in the process.
As of early May 2015, he has been able to return to work only on limited duties, highlighting the severity and longevity of his injuries.
The incident occurred on Enterprise Drive in Stafford, where the worker was cleaning the forks of a waste and recycling services company’s grizzly conveyor.
He fell from the side of the conveyor, which was lacking in the essential edge protection that might otherwise have avoided over a year of pain and trauma.
HSE inspector Katherine Blunt said: “This incident was entirely preventable; clearing the conveyor in this way was a routine part of the job, but no risk assessment had been carried out.
“If it had it would have been obvious edge protection was essential.”