Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash FY23 024 (V2) - Powered Conveyor Finger Amputation Accidents Caused By Wearing Gloves:

[rogersh]

No. 335/2023
8 December 2023
Our Ref: C11/23
To: All Branches
Dear Colleagues,
Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash FY23 024 (V2) - Powered Conveyor Finger Amputation Accidents Caused By Wearing Gloves:

Introduction, Background and Description:
Royal Mail Group’s Safety Team have issued ‘RMG SHE Safety Flash FY23 024’ (Version 2) on the subject of ‘Powered Conveyor Finger Amputation Accidents, Caused By Wearing Gloves. As a result of these accidents, the wearing of gloves whilst working on powered conveyors has now been prohibited and banned. This follows a series of similar accidents with one recent case in particular highlighting the danger when a worker had their glove trapped and drawn into the conveyor, causing the victim to suffer the part amputation of a finger. Following a review risk assessment by RMG’s SHE Team the RMG Processing Safe System of Work has been updated, to prohibit the routine wearing of gloves when interacting with any powered conveyor.

This SHE Flash has been issued to raise awareness, highlight the risks of these types of accidents and to communicate the new safety, risk control measure which is ‘Mandatory’.

Impact/Injuries:
Serious, life changing hand injuries including finger amputation.

The law:
 Employers and Managers are required by the Health and Safety at Work Act (S2) to ensure the health and safety of the workforce and to provide a workplace that is a safe place and has a safe system with safe plant and equipment.
 Employees are required by the Health and Safety at Work Act (S7) to co-operate with the employer so far as is necessary to enable the employer’s health and safety duties and safe systems of work to be performed or complied with. These duties are mandatory by law.

Key Messages, Learning Points, Advice for PiCs, Managers and Workforce:
In the recent and other similar accidents, the employee was wearing gloves, and a glove finger was caught and drawn into the conveyor. The employee's glove then pulled in the fingers and whole hand before the conveyor was emergency stopped. Severe injury was caused by the hand being crushed and a part finger amputation.

[R5001]

Who the hell even let them launch those machines without setting that rule, It's a very old well known risk of gloves and moving parts. At the least, gloves allowed must break easily.