Modification allowed fatal machine entry

摘要

General Motors UK has been fined ￡150,000 for failures involved in the death of a man who had worked for Vauxhall for 43 years. The company makes Vauxhall-branded vehicles at its factory in Ellesmere Port. The incident occurred in the factory's paint unit through which trolleys ("skids") carry cars on a conveyer system for spray-painting. On 22 July 2010, some of the skids became stuck in the part of the unit where they are stacked; Ian Heard entered the area but, as he moved the skids, the machine restarted, crushing him; he died 11 days later in hospital. When the machine was installed in the 1990s, it had not been possible to enter the conveyor system while it was operating because of light sensors at the front of the machine, and an access gate in the fence around the machine could only be opened once the power had been switched off.