Omega PLC fined £56,000 after finger amputation because of poorly guarded machine

Kitchen manufacturing company Omega PLC was fined £56,000 (inc.costs) after a worker severely injured their finger in unguarded machinery.

The circumstances were:

• The accident occurred on an edge-banding machine.
• The machine was inadequately guarded at the front. 
• Employees would climb onto the machine bed from the unguarded front and were able to access the area of danger when carrying out activities such as routine maintenance and to clear blockages
• On 8 May 2018, the worker was processing wood panels.
• A panel became stuck in the process. 
• When the worker accessed the inner part of the machine to clear the blockage, his hand entered the milling block area.
• This caused a severe laceration to the middle finger on the left hand resulting in amputation.

The HSE inspector said:
“Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery. This incident could so easily have been avoided by implementing correct control measures and ensuring that safe working practices were followed.”