Defeated interlock on CNC lathe causes severed finger and fine of £16,000,

Repro Engineering Limited, a Hampshire based engineering firm was fined £16,222 (inc.costs) after a worker severed a finger in a metal working lathe.

The circumstances were:

• The company allowed the custom  practice of defeating interlocks on CNC metal working lathes.
• This meant that machines could be operated whilst allowing access to the moving parts.
• His hand came into contact with the moving parts of the machine.
• This resulted in one of his fingers being severed.

The HSE inspector said:
“This incident could have been prevented by more active and robust management action, it sends out a message to employers that tampering with safety devices can lead to injury and prosecution”