CNC Speedwell Limited fined £140,909 after employee was caught in a machine whilst wearing gloves.

CNC Speedwell Limited, a supplier of machined components was fined £140,909 (inc.costs) after an employee sustained a severed finger, lacerations and tendon damage whilst operating a stud assembly machine at a factory in Brownhills, West Midlands.

The circumstances were:

• The accident occurred on 28 February 2018 on a stud assembly machine.
• No risk assessment had been carried out.
• There were no guards or two-handed controls.
• There was no safe system of work 
• The operators had not received suitable training.
• The operator was wearing gloves close to a rotating machine.
• Her gloved hand became entangled in the exposed rotating parts the machine. 
• Her index finger and the tendon along her arm were severely damaged.

The HSE inspector  said:
“Horrific, life changing injuries sustained in entanglement incidents can be avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

PCR Steel Ltd fined £59,900 after a driver was killed by a load being lifted onto his flatbed trailer

PCR Steel Ltd  was fined £59,900 (inc.costs) after a driver was crushed and killed by a metal balcony being loaded onto his truck.

The circumstances were:

• On 4 April 2019, an employee of South East Galvanizers Limited visited PCR Steel Ltd at their premises to collect a load which included a metal balcony base frame.
• PCR Steel failed to ensure that the lifting operation was properly planned by a competent person, 
• They failed to ensure that it was appropriately supervised, and carried out in a safe manner. 
• There was no lift plan for the manoeuvring of balcony frames that could have considered the load’s security, size and weight. 
• There was no plan for how the load would be set down, nor for how to exclude people from the danger zone.
• The driver was standing on the back of the trailer bed whilst the  balcony base frame was being loaded.
• The load was not secured and the balcony frame weighing approximately 400kg fell and crushed him.

Ken Mills Engineering Ltd., fined £68,494 after worker lost an arm whilst repairing a haylage baler.

Littleborough-based Ken Mills Engineering Ltd., was fined £68,494 (inc. costs) after one of their employees lost an arm whilst repairing a haylage baler on site.

The circumstances were:

• On 9 February 9 2017, the baler was being repaired at a farm near Wakefield.
• Several engineers had been involved over a number of days to repair the baler. 
• This work had not been subject to a risk assessment. 
• Engineers were not provided with effective information, instruction and training for this activity. 
• They were left to devise their own system of work, which consequently was not safe.
• They relied on techniques they were familiar with from the factory.
• These techniques which were not suitable for the site circumstances. 
• As a result, the vertical compaction ram was inadvertently initiated trapping and crushing the worker’s arm.
• The arm was partially severed at the scene; required several operations and following medical complications was amputated from above the elbow.

The HSE inspector  commented:
“It was reasonably practicable for Ken Mills Engineering Ltd to have done more to ensure engineers were working safely. This incident could have easily been prevented if the company had assessed the repair activity; identified site specific hazards and typical custom and practice, provided a safe working procedure and then effective information, instruction and training for that procedure and the repair work that day”.