Inadequate safety guards on machines

Just one of the thousands of horrific yet preventable workplace injuries reported each year.

There are around a dozen deaths and 40,000 injuries each year due to incidents where workers have been using machines, and most of these are easily prevented. HSE inspectors often witness the aftermath of horrific incidents due to poorly maintained or missing guarding on machinery with dangerous moving parts. Workers in machine shops, engineering works, and factories can be put at risk by employers failing to maintain safety devices designed to protect staff on machinery or allowing its removal. British employers would save around 250,000 work days each year if they could just keep people safe on machinery. Even for survivors, the injuries can be life-changing.