It makes you wonder how can such an experienced worker die at work doesn’t it?  We know at one of my previous workplaces there was an accident that made us all think differently; our colleague with over 30 years’ service had been unlucky maybe.  He lost an eye because he had forgotten to put on his safety glasses; it certainly got the attention everyone working there.

The employee at General Motors worked at the Ellesmere Port site and was working in the paint plant in the factory to free part of the automated system.  As he released the conveyor system the machine restarted and he was crushed; he was taken to hospital and died 11 days later.

The most frustrating part of this was that General Motors had identified in a risk assessment 10 years previously that there was a potential danger but had taken no action.  It seems that when the system was first introduced that guarding systems made it impossible to enter into the area without properly isolating the equipment.  However, at a later date a doorway was added into the back of the machine which enabled the guarding system to be bi-passed.

Over time it became standard practice for workers to use the door to gain access and free the conveyor and management did nothing to prevent this happening or to upgrade the safe access systems.

As the HSE inspector leading the investigation commented what’s the point in carrying out the risk assessment if the findings are just going to be ignored.

It seems to me that it’s too easy for managers to overlook certain health & safety issues if they think it’s going to help keep production going.   Turning a blind eye to achieve production targets all too often in my experience is just a recipe for disaster; as when it goes wrong it’s impossible to defend the position taken and then fingers are pointed.

Clearly this man died at work because of a failure to take action and I am sure there must be a lot of his colleagues who will be asking how did we let this happen; particularly the managers.

The court found General Motors guilty of breaches of the HSWA and PUWER and the company was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay costs of £19,654.

This once again shows the importance of undertaking a taking positive action when risks are identified and we would urge anyone in management to look closely at whether there are improvements you have yet do something about.