Health and Safety Failings – Machinery guarding incident leads to £40,000 fine

Machinery guarding incident leads to £40,000 fine

Key Facts:

• A firm have been prosecuted after a machinery guarding incident seriously injured a 19-year-old worker.
• His gloved hand was drawn into the drive mechanism of a machine, severing his hand and much of his forearm.
• The HSE investigation found that proper guarding could have prevented this incident.
• The company were fined £40,000 plus costs of £1,314.

The case:

An investigation was launched into the health and safety practices of a Nottinghamshire firm after a machinery guarding incident left a 19-year-old worker injured on 11 July 2013.

The employee was working on an assembly line at the company’s site. His job was to remove treated wood panels and stack them for storage, whilst using an old glove to manually apply wood treatment to any areas that had not been fully coated. On the day of the incident, this glove fell into the conveyor in front of the drive mechanism and the worker instinctively reached for the glove. It was then that his gloved hand was drawn into the drive mechanism.

His hand and much of his forearm was severed. It was later reduced further during surgery, and the man will need a further operation. He has been left unable to return to work.

The subsequent HSE investigation found that a piece of plastic machinery guarding had previously been damaged. Had it been intact, it would have prevented the worker’s hand from being drawn into the machinery. The HSE also found that the machinery guarding was not suitably fixed into position. Further inspection revealed the machinery guarding of two other conveyors was also unsuitable.

The case was heard on 16 April 2015, where the company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. They were fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,314.

What the HSE Inspector had to say:

Speaking after the hearing the HSE Inspector Stuart Pilkington stated that:

“This was an extremely traumatic incident, not just for Mr Marshall, but for his colleagues as well.

It was also easily preventable. Had the risks been properly assessed by Kybotech Ltd, they would have identified the need to improve the existing guarding so that any openings were of a size that prevented a person’s hand being drawn in.

This case highlights the importance of ensuring dangerous machinery is properly guarded.”

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