Laxtons fined £16,500 when employee lost part of his hand due to a defective guard interlock

 Laxtons Limited, a West Yorkshire manufacturing company, was fined £16,509 (inc.costs) for safety breaches after a worker lost part of their hand in a textile machine.

The circumstances were:

• On 24 March 2021 an employee was operating a textile machine.
• This machine had a defective interlock which allowed it to run when the guard over a pair of in-running rollers and gears, was opened.
• When he opened a guard to check on a build-up of fibres, he reached in to remove material, losing part of his hand.

Midland Steel Reinforcement Supplies fined £491,000 for multiple failings

Midland Steel Reinforcement Supplies (UK) Limited were fined £491,239 (inc.costs) after multiple health and safety failings were found at their site in Bishop Auckland.

The circumstance were:

• In June 2019, an employee was struck and injured by a work piece and suffered an injury to his right hand. 
• In July 2019, an agency worker suffered a finger amputation whilst manually removing a piece of metal near the unguarded blade of another machine.
• HSE visited the steel supplies site in 2019 ,finding wholly inadequate management of health and safety.
• An investigation by HSE found the company had failed to prevent access to the dangerous moving parts on both machines. These machines were metal rebar forming machines and had been used at the site for a number of years. 
• In addition to the guarding faults, HSE also found the emergency stop and safety devices wired out on one of the machines.
• The machinery risk assessments were substandard.
• Staff were trained to operate the machines in an unsafe manner. 
• The company also had a forklift truck in daily use, despite it having defective brakes.

B&M fined £1M after electrical explosion at their warehouse

Retail company B&M were fined £1,000,000 after an electrician suffered serious burns to 15 per cent of his body when he was caught in an explosion at a warehouse in Liverpool.

The circumstances were:

• On 22 September 2018, an electrician was attempting to connect a generator to B&M’s Low Voltage supply in order to allow B&M to operate some of its core site functions whilst high voltage maintenance was being undertaken. 
• This work was complex involving several contractors and required co-ordination of different working parties with specific time limited requirements. 
• There was insufficient planning between parties beforehand including who was in charge of each site, coordination of work and exchange of relevant documentation.
• B&M failed to appoint a suitably competent person to plan and carry out the work to connect temporary generators to their distribution board at the premises.
• Electrical contractors Daker Ltd.’s work methods fell well below the required standards. Electrical work commenced without proper planning. 
• The power supply to the circuit was not stopped prior to the incident and live working was allowed to take place.
• This meant that the power supply could be switched on or off at any point, putting workers at risk of electric shock.
• The electrician was using a metal spanner to repair an electrical fault at B&M Retail Ltd warehouse.
• The spanner he was using  came into contact with a live busbar  linked to the power distribution causing an electrical explosion.

Kent Auto Developments Limited fined £18,349 after employee was drawn into lathe whilst using hand-held emery cloth

Engineering company Kent Auto Developments Limited was fined £18,349 (inc.costs) after a worker suffered injuries after becoming entangled in a metal working lathe whilst using hand-held emery cloth.

The circumstances were:

• On  10 August 2020, Joshua Halls was completing the process of polishing brake drums for a Mini, rotating on a manual metalworking lathe. 
• Joshua was applying emery cloth by hand, a practice condoned by the company, 
• The business had failed to implement a safe system of work.
• Employees routinely polished brake drums with emery cloth by hand on the lathe, a task known to be dangerous due to the potential risk of entanglement of the cloth in the rotating parts of the lathe, which can result in serious personal injury.
• He was drawn into the machine which resulted in lacerations to his forearm and injuries to his neck and face.
• The incident was not RIDDOR-reported until three months after the incident.
• If the requirement to use emery cloth on a lathe is unavoidable, then tool posts and holding devices should be used.

The HSE inspector commented:
“We still see incidents like this, where unsafe work practices with machinery lead to injury, despite the existence of specific guidance published by HSE.
Workers coming into contact with machinery is the  fourth biggest cause of workplace fatalities in Great Britain, with 14 people  killed in the year 2020/21. Over 50,000 non-fatal injuries were reported by employers in the same year.
Employers should ensure that measures are taken to prevent workers from sustaining injury, where it is evident that persons are at risk of becoming entangled in machinery. It’s important that, when people do get hurt, the relevant authorities are notified so that action can be taken to prevent recurrence.”

Personal Protective Equipment Regulations now cover casual/contract workers

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (PPER 2022) are now in force. They amend the 1992 Regulations (PPER 1992).

They now cover workers who generally have a more casual employment relationship and work under a contract for service; they were not included in the scope of PPER 1992.

What this means is that employers must provide the same type of PPE and instructions for casual/contract workers as they would for full-time employees.

Staircraft Group fined £206,477 after employee fell 3.5m from forklift truck whilst cleaning windows.

Carpentry and joinery company Staircraft Group Limited was fined £206,477 (inc. costs) after a man working unsecured on the forks of a fork-lift truck fell 3.5 metres to the ground.

The circumstances were:

• On 14 June 2021 an employee was cleaning windows.
• He was working from an unsecured stillage on the forks of a fork-lift truck in order to clean office windows at height.  
• The company failed to identify that using a stillage to lift someone on the forks of a forklift truck, a method that they had used before, was unsafe.
• There was a lack of training for employees on the dangers of working at height without the proper equipment .
• There were no systems of work or risk assessments in place.
• The stillage tipped and the employee fell 3.5 metres to the ground.  
• As a result of the incident, he sustained a broken leg and an injury to his elbow.

The HSE inspector said:
“The employee’s injuries were very serious, and he could have easily been killed.
This serious incident could so easily have been 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.”

Dyson fine £1.2M + costs after accident when moving a machine tool

Technology firm Dyson was fined £1,211,511 (inc costs) after an employee sustained head and chest injuries when moving a machine tool.

The circumstances were:

• On August 27, 2019.a milling machine weighing 1.5 tonne was being moved at the Tetbury site.
• Dyson Technology Limited failed to provide suitable and sufficient information, instruction, and training to those undertaking the task. 
• They also failed to adequately assess the task and devise a safe system of work to ensure the machine was moved safely.
• Two employees lifted the machine using a five-tonne jack.
• They were in the process of replacing two fixed roller skates with several wooden blocks when it fell.
• One of the employees was struck by the machine and sustained a wound to his head and injuries to his chest.

The inspector said:
“This incident could have been fatal. Those in control of work have a duty to assess the risks, devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction, and training to their workforce.
“Had a suitable safe system of work been in place this incident and the related injuries could have been prevented.”