Diageo fined after two workers injured

Drinks giant Diageo has been fined £18,000 after it was found guilty of breaching health and safety regulations which led to two workers suffering injuries including broken bones and memory loss.

Robert Edward, then 51, fell nearly four metres from a portable ladder while clearing a blockage inside a chute in a grain silo at Burghead Maltings in Moray, Scotland, in 2012.

He was found unconscious on the floor by another worker and taken to hospital with concussion, a cut to his head and a dislocated finger.

Two months later, at Glenlossie Dark Grains Plant in Thomshill, Elgin, Peter Douglas, then 43, was standing on the engine bonnet of a loader shovel to wash the roof when he slipped and fell more than two metres to the ground.

Mr Douglas was taken to hospital suffering from a bleed to the brain and a shattered bone in his left leg and now suffers from short term memory loss.

Both men have since returned to work, however an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) concluded that Diageo had failed to take sufficient steps to prevent the incidents which “could have proved fatal”.
Following the case, HSE Principal Inspector Niall Miller, said: “At Burghead Maltings, Diageo’s management was aware of the blockage issue; however they failed to identify that a safe method of working was not in place and that unsafe practices for clearing blockages had developed.
“At Glenlossie, a discussion with a loader shovel operator on how it was washed would have identified the dangers to employees. The risk assessment on the use of the loader shovel should also have considered the risks associated with its cleaning.”
Diageo Scotland Ltd was fined a total of £18,000 after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety regulations.