HSE: Worker protection is paramount

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reminded companies of the importance of protective workware and other safety procedures when operating potentially dangerous machinery.

HSE inspector Andrea Jones explained that carding machines used in the manufacturing sector can cause accidents if not properly guarded and set up.

"The HSE cannot over-emphasise the importance to employers of ensuring moving rollers of any carding machine have come to a complete stop before guards can be opened," Ms Jones added.

Incidents of this kind are entirely avoidable as long as companies focus on the right kind of training and protection, concluded the HSE chief.

She was speaking after a West Yorkshire worker injured his hand in an accident involving a carding machine.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health recently suggested that workers need to be properly trained if safety standards in the UK are to improve.

It argued that much of the health and safety training currently carried out in the UK is insufficiently engaging.

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