Prosecutions

On 27 October 2008, the worker was trying to fix machinery within a silo when he became trapped within the machinery.

The grain silo was emptied using a large piece of rotating machinery known as a sweep auger. The sweep auger had not been moving around the silo so the worker switched off the electrical supply and went into the silo on two occasions in order to attempt to release the machinery which appeared to be blocked with grain. On his third attempt he did not isolate the power to the screw auger, and whilst inside the silo, he slipped and his legs became entangled in the auger.

The worker was taken to hospital, where his left leg was amputated below the knee.  His right leg was also badly broken and is still held together by plates and pins.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that although the company had put in place procedures for working inside silos, they were not safe because there was no supervision on site to ensure that they were followed. The company used a 'Permit To Work' system which required an independent and competent person to verify that the auger was switched off before an employee entered the silo. However at the time of the incident the person nominated by the company, the site manager, had been absent for a number of months and his substitute had left the previous week.

After the hearing, the HSEs Principal Inspector said:

"If the company had ensured that there was a competent person on site to authorise and oversee the work being undertaken to empty the grain silo, then this incident would not have happened.

"The site manager was on long term sick leave yet no review of the company's systems of work had been carried out. The worker should not have been left in the position to be authorising his own work.

"The duty on the employers does not simply extend to giving instructions but ensuring that the instructions are carried out."

At Perth Sheriff Court the company were fined £8,000 after they pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.