Stonegrave Aggregates Limited, part of the Ashcourt Group, has been fined £270,000 after an employee was injured while cleaning a waste picking line.
On 24 March 2023, the man became trapped in a section of machinery when the line was accidentally switched on. He suffered a fractured shoulder, torn ligaments, and a broken finger.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to ensure an isolation procedure was correctly implemented while employees were cleaning machinery at its site at Aycliffe Quarry, Aycliffe Village, County Durham.
The incident occurred when a senior supervisor restarted the machinery after mistaking the worker in question for a colleague in similar clothing nearby.
In December 2015, one staff member was killed and another suffered life-changing injuries on a separate waste sorting line due to similar failures to follow proper isolation and lock-off procedures.
Stonegrave Aggregates pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £270,000, as well as ordered to pay full costs of £15,637.
Following the hearing, HSE inspector Darian Dundas said: “Effective monitoring, auditing and review of isolation systems is essential to demonstrate that they are working and controlling risk.”
“Incidents like this can and should be prevented by following robust lock-off procedures.”