View report page

the fingers of his hand was crushed and lacerated by the revolving part at the base of
the well. His normal duties were those of a kitchen porter and, despite a switch and
warning light nearby, he was apparently unaware that the unit was power-operated.
He also failed to hear the machine operating against the background noise of the
kitchen operations. There was no suggestion that his hearing or eyesight were other
than normal. Following discussion with the officer appointed under Section 57,
advice was given to the firm concerned, and subsequently a modification was fitted
to the machine to restrict the feed aperture.
4. A service mechanic was overhauling a photo-copying machine in the offices
of a large wholesale warehouse and had removed a cover. Whilst watching the
machine in operation, he attempted to adjust a belt drive to the rollers. In doing so,
his finger was trapped in the developer section, fractured and lacerated. For normal
operation, the machine appeared adequately fenced. This clearly illustrated the
importance of allowing potentially dangerous moving parts of machinery to come to
rest before attempting adjustments.
The incidence of falls notified showed a slight increase over the previous year,
whilst accidents due to stepping on or striking against objects or persons showed a
slight decrease. One fall investigated occurred when a window sill collapsed and a
window cleaner fell onto a flat roof some 6 feet below sustaining a fracture of the
ankle. He was wearing a safety harness, but no attachment points were provided on
the window.
Of the seven reported accidents involving the use of hand tools, six occurred
while cutting up meat in retail butchers shops. Two of these resulted in punctured
wounds of the thigh and abdomen respectively. In the latter case, the injured person
received hospital treatment. In both cases, it was indeed fortunate that no major blood
vessels were severed which would have had more serious consequences. Employers
were advised of the desirability of providing heavy duty aprons to be worn during
boning-out and cutting-up operations.
Reported accidents analysed by workplace and sex and by primary causes are
shown in Table E, together with the corresponding figures for 1965 and 1966 which
are in columns A and B of the tables.
Display of the Abstract of the Act (Section 50)
Failure to display a copy of the Abstract of the Act in 490 premises was the most
widely reported infringement. It was noteworthy that in many premises, where an
Abstract was correctly displayed, a number of employees had not taken the trouble
to read it.
Prosecutions
Proceedings were instituted against the Proprietor of a catering establishment
alleging failure to keep a basement room clean, to provide a thermometer and first
61