The two men were working at the Kettleby Foods factory, operated by Samworth Brothers Ltd, which owns popular food brands including Ginsters, West Cornwall Pasty Co. and Soreen, when they were scalded by hot water from the pipework. The men were working to replace a leaking gasket in an isolation valve on steam pipework in the boiler room of the factory. They were undertaking the work from a gantry above the boiler. The gantry didn’t provide access to the specific part of the pipework they were working on, and so both men had to step off the gantry and work on top of the boiler. When they removed the gasket, they were both splashed with hot water from the pipework, suffering scald injuries. One of the men suffered 4-5% subdermal burns, and the other suffered 9% subdermal, second-degree burns.
The investigation by HSE found that Samworth Brothers Limited had failed to risk assess the task and failed to document a safe system of work for the work being undertaken. The investigation found that suitable isolation and lock-off procedures were not used at the time of the incident, and that the work was undertaken at height without sufficient measures in place to prevent a fall from height. There was a lack of adequate supervision and monitoring procedures in place to ensure that expected processes were followed.
Samworth Brothers Limited, of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £594,000 and ordered to pay £5,834 in prosecution costs, in full, and a £2,000 victim surcharge. The company was also ordered to pay £6,000 in compensation to the injured employee.
HSE Inspector Stacey Gamwell said, “A company this size should have known better. This was a wholly avoidable incident which could have resulted in even more serious consequences. If Samworth Brothers Ltd had properly risk-assessed the task, they would have identified the need for proper controls for working at height, as well as robust isolation and lock-off procedures, including supervision and monitoring to make sure those procedures and controls were properly enforced. Their failure led to severe and painful scalding injuries which should never have happened. The result handed down should serve as a warning to employers; when it comes to keeping people safe, HSE won’t hesitate to take action against firms which fall short.”
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