Worker loses arm in circular saw which was still running down

Stagecraft Display Ltd, of Llandrindod Wells, was fined  £21,865 (inc. costs) after a woodworker had his right arm severed while clearing sawdust from underneath a circular saw.

The circumstances were:

• Although the machine was fitted with an interlock that stops power to the saw when the door to the saw well is opened, the saw took more than 30 seconds to stop completely.
• A self-employed machine maintenance engineer inspected the saw three months before the incident and told one of the company’s managers that it should be taken out of service or fitted with a brake which would stop the blade much sooner.
• On 23 February 2012, Brian Morris had finished sawing for the day and his last task was to clean the saw and saw well.
• He stopped the machine and opened the door of the well while the blade was still running down and was on one knee blowing air into the well to clear the dust. 
• At the same time a forklift truck drove into the factory and he turned his head to look.
• As he did so the moving blade caught the sleeve of his work jacket and cut his right arm. Although he managed to pull himself free, the arm was almost wholly severed.
• Mr Morris was taken to hospital, where he remained for a month, but doctors were unable to successfully reattach his arm and he underwent an amputation below the elbow.
• He was unable to return to work because of his injuries and has since died from an unrelated illness.

The HSE inspector said:

“This incident was entirely preventable. Saws cause the most injuries in the woodworking industry and power-operated circular saws are dangerous machines which have caused many serious incidents. Employees should not be able to gain access to dangerous parts of the machinery while they are moving and Stagecraft Display had a duty, as do all employers, to ensure that this cannot happen. Unfortunately in this case the saw had not finished rotating despite the fact that Mr Morris had switched it off and he then inadvertently came into contact with the moving blade, suffering a horrific injury.”

Crisp producer fined after worker lost part of finger in unguarded sprocket

Herefordshire crisp producer Tyrells was fined £13,000 (inc. costs) on 19 January 2015 after a worker lost part of a finger in the moving parts of a fryer.

The circumstances were:

• A chain and sprocket on a stirrer on a fryer was inadequately guarded.
• On 7 November 2012 an employee was cleaning the machine.7
• His finger caught in the nip point of the moving chain and sprocket.
• His middle finger on the left hand was severed just below the first joint.
• He was off work for two months but returned to work for the company. 
• A fixed guard was later fitted to the chain and sprocket.

The HSE Inspector said:

“The incident was entirely preventable. Tyrells Potato Crisps Ltd failed to ensure that moving parts capable of causing injury and within hand reach were adequately guarded.  Employers are required to take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery, or stop their movement before any part of a person enters a danger zone.”

Wye Valley Brewery fined £29,632 after worker was injured in a confined space

Wye Valley Brewery was fined £29,632 (inc. costs) on 20th January 2015 after a worker suffered a broken foot when it became trapped in a rotating stirrer.

The circumstances were:

• Wye Valley Brewery had advice about safe systems of work for confined spaces but ignored it.
• As a result there had been no risk assessments on entering confined spaces.
• There were no systems for controlling work in confined spaces or for isolating equipment.
• There was no emergency rescue procedure.
• On 20 February 2013 an employee entered a mash tun, which is a large steel vessel.
• The stirrer in this vessel was still running.
• His right foot became caught in the stirrer.
• He was rescued by colleagues and was off work for two days.
• He has since returned to work.

The HSE inspector said:

“Wye Valley Brewery had advice and information about devising safe systems of work for entry into confined spaces, but ignored it and failed to consider the risks to its employees. As a result, a man suffered a painful injury.  He was very fortunate that colleagues heard his cries for help and managed to rescue him in time.”

Aspenlink fined £14,700 after worker was crushed by reel of paper

Aspenlink, a Hertfordshire-based company was fined £14,700 (inc. costs) after a worker suffered multiple injuries when he was struck by a 3.2 tonne reel of paper.

The circumstances were:

• Aspenlink's safety consultants had, on three consecutive years from 2010, advised them of the need to carry out a proper risk assessment and introduce a safe system of work for loading paper reels.
• Aspenlink failed to act on this advice.
• On 25 September 2013 an employee was helping to load the reel onto a container. 
• He was actually in the container.
• He was hit by the reel after it was released by a forklift truck, trapping him between the reel and the bulkhead of the container.
• He sustained a double fracture to his pelvis, as well as internal injuries, remaining in hospital for almost a month. He has had to undergo a series of operations, and has only recently returned to work.

The HSE Inspector said:
“This was an entirely avoidable incident. The dangers associated with paper reels, in particular the risks associated with their loading and unloading, are well-known in the industry and entirely foreseeable. Aspenlink was first made aware of the numerous shortcomings in its management of health and safety by its own health and safety consultant in 2010 – some three years before the incident – but it failed to act on this advice. The company should have carried out proper assessment of the risks facing workers. Instead, it waited for an employee to be seriously injured before taking any action.”

SGL Carbon Fibers fined £10,000 after serious burns

SGL Carbon Fibers, a Highland manufacturing company was fined £10,000 after a worker suffered severe burns to both arms as he tried to clear a blockage in an unguarded machine.

The circumstances were:

• Miroslaw Grzybowski was working on a production line to heat-treat carbon fibres where the material is pulled through a series of ovens operating at increasing temperatures.
• Despite suitable guarding being installed on similar trapping points on other production lines, SGL had failed to identify the risk on the line Mr Grzybowski worked on.
• The company also failed to identify the risk to employees of being in very close proximity to the machine during the recovery activity.
• SGL failed to ensure that when unclogging the process, movement of dangerous parts stopped before workers entered into the danger zone.
• On 13 February 2011 carbon fibre material coming out of an oven had wrapped around a roller.
• Mr Grzybowski and his deputy team leader went to the front of the oven, which was heated to 200C, and Mr Grzybowski climbed through the barrier and began to move the material that had caught using his left hand.
• He was wearing company-provided gloves and safety jumper but was not wearing the Kevlar arm sleeves provided by SGL.
• The deputy team leader, unaware that Mr Grzybowski still had his hand inside the machine, instructed another operator to open the nip roller, which narrowed the gap between two rollers trapping Mr Grzybowski’s left wrist.
• He reached in with his right hand to withdraw his left and burned that wrist too. 
• Mr Grzybowski was taken to hospital with severe burns to the back of both his wrists and a first degree burn to the inside of his right forearm. The following week he underwent surgery to have skin grafts on his wrists and spent a week in hospital before returning to work with the company.

The HSE inspector said:
“This incident was entirely foreseeable and therefore entirely preventable. Where an employee is able to gain access to dangerous moving parts, there is a risk of coming into contact with them. SGL Carbon Fibers Ltd should have identified the risk posed to workers on this particular production line and made sure it was adequately guarded as they had done on other lines. Suitable guarding coupled with adequate information, instruction and supervision would have played a large part in avoiding this incident. The injuries suffered by Mr Grzybowski were further compounded by the high temperature of the roller.”

JCB fined after employee was crushed

JC Bamford Excavators Ltd was fined £26,390 (inc. costs) after a worker was left with multiple injuries after being crushed during the assembly of a telescopic handler.

The circumstances were:

• There was a designated area of the assembly track where hydraulic fluids were pumped into the machine and steering and other systems operated to force the fluids through the system.
• The assembly sequence for the telescopic materials handler was changed, which led to the fitting of the front offside light and mirror arm being moved from a point when the hydraulics were not live, to a point when the hydraulics were live and functions such as steering were tested.
• On 3 June 2013 Roger Pearce was installing the vehicle’s offside light and mirror arm.
• This required him to crouch down.
• As a result of this, he could not be seen by a colleague testing the steering.
• When the steering was activated, he was crushed between a wheel and the bodywork.
• He fractured ten ribs; damaged the bones at the base of his spine, and injured his bladder and kidney. He was hospitalised for ten days and is still undergoing treatment. He has not been able to return to work.

The HSE inspector said:
“This was a serious incident with Mr Pearce sustaining injuries from which he has yet to recover. It was also a preventable incident. JCB had allowed the introduction of a serious hazard and failed to assess the risk from this change. The controls that were in place were inadequate and Mr Pearce suffered serious harm as a result. Since the incident, the fitting of the light and mirror arm has been moved back to earlier in the assembly sequence when the hydraulics are not operational. Other changes have included barriers around the assembly area and the introduction of a banksman to control personnel working within it. The risks associated with the manufacturing processes involving large pieces of powered equipment should be assessed to ensure that there are effective controls and safe work procedures to protect those involved in this work.”

Gardiners Colours fined after death caused by load falling from forklift truck

Gardiner Colours was fined £116,000 (inc. costs) after a worker died when he was crushed beneath a one tonne silo of varnish that slid from the tines of a forklift truck and toppled onto him.

The circumstances were:

• Gardiner Colours makes inks, varnishes and coatings.
• A customer had returned part of an order as it couldn’t decant varnish from a silo and had asked for the liquid be re-sent in 10kg plastic containers.
• Because of difficulties in changing the order, workers were tasked with decanting the varnish directly from the silo into the containers via a tap at the base of the silo, which had been raised on the tines of the forklift on 25 March 2011.
• Gardiner Colours failed to assess the risks to workers of the decanting operation. As a result, employees were operating without a system of work in place to help them do the job in safety.
• It is dangerous for the forklift to be used to balance heavy loads for extended periods – a job for which it was not designed.
• There had been previous near misses with a load falling from the tines of a forklift truck but not action had been taken.
• As Wayne Potts worked on the decanting, the silo slid down the tines and fell directly onto him. He died in hospital later the same night.
• A combination of the creeping heavy load, the downward tilt of the forks, and the valve being used frequently from below, had caused the silo to fall.

The HSE Inspector said:

“A system that involves a person standing in the immediate vicinity of a suspended load on a forklift truck, which had no driver, is inherently unsafe. The forklift is not capable of holding elevated loads for long periods yet it was a system that had been allowed to develop over time, despite there being readily-available, safe alternatives. Every worker should quite rightly expect that they will return home safely from work every day. Sadly this did not happen for Wayne Potts that day but there is no doubt that his death was avoidable had Gardiner Colours effectively managed the health, safety and welfare of its employees and learned lessons from previous incidents and near-misses.”