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In the food and drink sector research by the HSE has identified that machinery causes:
- 22% of fatal injuries
- 12% of major injuries (eg requiring hospitalisation)
- 8% of all injuries (ie major injuries and over-3-day absence injuries)
- approximately 800 reportable injuries.
Analysis of injuries over a four year period highlighted the main types of machinery involved:
- Conveyors are responsible for 30 % of all accidents and cause more injuries than any other type of machine with 90% of conveyor injuries arising on belt conveyors; and of these 90% involving well known hazards such as in-running nips, transmission parts and trapping points between moving and fixed parts.
- Fork lift trucks are responsible for 12% of all work equipment accidents
- Bandsaws are responsible for 5% of all work equipment accidents
- Thermoform machines, pie and tart machines, palletisers/depalletisers, strapping/banding/tapping machines and mincing/ grinding/mixing machines are reposnible for 4% each of all work equipment accidents.
- Food mixers, wrapping machines, dough moulders and depositors are responsible for 3% each of all accidents
- Slicers, dough dividers, derinders, drinks bottling machinery, roll plant and kegging plant are responsible for 2% each of all work equipment accidents
- Patty formers, cartoning machines, vertical thermoform machines, drinks labelling/marking machines, shrink wrapping machines and drinks process machinery are responsible for 1% each of all work equipment accidents
- Drinks crating/decrating machines, stamping/ punching / franking machines and drinks canning machinery are responsible for 0.5% each of all work equipment accidents.
To check how you are managing work equipment hazards go to: Level 3 self assessment.
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