Hayle machinery firm fined for putting workers at risk

Date:

1 April 2010

Release No:

771SWW/10

A Hayle-based company has been fined £3,000 for repeated safety offences, leaving workers at risk of serious injury at its factory.

Specialist boring equipment manufacturer, Rigibore Ltd of Guildford Industrial Estate, Venton League, Hayle, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, for failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery.

At Camborne Magistrates Court today, Rigibore Ltd was also ordered to pay £3,419.50 in costs.

The court heard inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited the site at Guildford Industrial Estate in December 2008 and found machinery without safety guards or a power cut off device to automatically stop the machine in the event of someone getting dragged into it.

The company had previously been served with an Improvement Notice following safety fears about machine guards. While Rigibore Ltd initially complied with this notice other offences were later committed.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Jo Fitzgerald said:

"It's extremely disappointing that after complying with an Improvement Notice, Rigibore was again found in breach of Health and Safety regulations during a later visit.

"Rigibore Ltd put its employees at serious risk of having their hands or arms caught in machines, which could have caused all manner of horrific injuries. The company had not managed health and safety as they should have and standards of machinery safeguarding were completely unacceptable.

"Fitting guards and trip devices to potentially dangerous machinery is a relatively simple way to protect workers from severe injury. Employers need to think seriously about ensuring this form of basic protection is in place."

Notes to editors

1. Pictures of unprotected machinery at Rigibore Ltd and interviews with the HSE inspector are available upon request
2. Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: "Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken ... which are effective (a) to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery ... or (b) to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery ... before any part of a person enters a danger zone."
3. Further guidance and advice on health and safety issues relating to engineering workshops can be found on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/engineering

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR South West