Comfy Quilts fined over worker’s injuries

Comfy Quilts Ltd, has been fined after a worker suffered severe injuries when his right hand was trapped in a moving machine.

The company, of Stakehill Industrial Estate in Middleton, was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £718.50 in prosecution costs after pleading guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The 60-year-old, from Rochdale, who does not want to be named, was carrying out maintenance work on a pillow filling machine at Comfy Quilts Ltd in Stakehill when the incident happened on 2 July 2013.

The company, which designs and manufactures pillows, quilts and other bed linen, was prosecuted today (30 May) by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found it had not provided suitable safe systems of work or adequate training for maintenance workers.

Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard that the worker was attempting to rectify a problem with the pillow filler. The fixed guards had been removed to allow access, but correct procedures to isolate the power supply had not been followed and his right hand was trapped in the machine as a result.

He lost a significant amount of skin and badly fractured his thumb, which had to be pinned following surgery. He was unable to return to work for two months and could then only undertake light duties.

HSE served an Improvement Notice at the Stakehill site in the aftermath of the incident and also carried out an inspection of the company’s other site in Middleton. This resulted in further Improvement Notices being served, all highlighting the general lack of knowledge about the importance of machinery guarding.

The court was told Comfy Quilts Ltd made several changes to its working practices following the incident, including making and publishing risk assessments for working on each machine at the site, and formally implementing procedures and training for maintenance staff.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Emily Osborne said: “An employee sustained a painful injury in the incident, but it could easily have been much worse.

“The fact we needed to serve Improvement Notices at both of the company’s Middleton sites shows that it did not properly understand the vital role guards play in keeping workers safe. Workers were put at a significant risk on a daily basis so it was almost inevitable that someone would eventually be injured.

“Comfy Quilts Ltd should have carried out a proper assessment of the risks faced by workers, and then acted to tackle the dangers. If the measures the company implemented following the incident had been in place sooner, then the worker’s injuries could have been avoided.”

A statement from the Board Of Directors of Comfy Quilts Ltd said: "The accident that led to this prosecution was a matter of great regret to us. A highly experienced engineer, with many decades of working with machinery, made the surprising mistake of reaching into a machine with moving parts knowing it was not isolated, and despite very clear warning signs on the machine prohibiting such an act. However, the HSE’s investigation revealed that at the site in question, which had only recently commenced operations, we were unable to demonstrate that we had carried out an adequate risk assessment specific to cleaning and maintenance operations and had failed to take steps to ensure two newly recruited engineers - one of whom was the injured person - received familiarisation on our machines. The HSE accepted that these failings were not a significant cause of the accident.

"We accept the penalty imposed and were pleased to note the Court’s public recognition of both our full co-operation with HSE during its investigation and the fact that we did everything we could to fully comply with our legal duties following the incident. The safety of our employees is a key priority of our business.”