Northern Ireland sawmiller Balcas Timber Ltd has been fined £87,000 at Dungannon Crown Court after an employee had his foot amputated following a serious injury at work.
The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) issued a statement saying the man was working on moveable track at the entrance to a timber treatment chamber at Balcas Timber Ltd, Ballinamallard, Co Fermanagh on 29 October 2023, when the accident happened.
He was freed from the equipment by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, and flown by air ambulance to hospital, where his right foot was surgically amputated due to the extent of the injury.
HSENI inspector Kevin Campbell said the accident was entirely preventable, and the consequences could have been significantly worse.
The company had earlier pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences.
An investigation by HSENI found that limit switches on the plant were not maintained in a safe state and defects regularly arose which prevented the safe running of the equipment.
At the time of the incident, the employee was attempting to reset various limit switches associated with the track, following the process stalling during the treatment sequence.
The investigation also established that production operators routinely bypassed safety features by placing a large metal pin to hold down control levers on the control panel. This meant that the machine remained in “ON” or “LIVE” mode when the operators went to physically reset the limit switches, resulting in the moveable track being able to travel while they were close to it.
Prosecutors in the PPS’s Fraud & Departmental Section worked closely with HSENI to build a robust prosecution case.
“This incident could easily have been avoided,” said major investigation team inspector Kevin Campbell.
“The employee suffered serious lifestyle changing injuries, but the outcome really could have been much worse.
“All employers must ensure that effective, planned, preventative maintenance procedures are in place for work equipment and that these are complemented by pre-start checks carried out by competent personnel,” he explained.
“All defective equipment and plant should not be used until it is either properly repaired or replaced, by competent personnel. Safety control devices, such as hold-to-run controls, must not be overridden or defeated, as this can result in unintended movements of the plant while an operator is in its travel path.”
Balcas Timber became part of the Glennon Brothers Group in 2021.
