Derbyshire firm fined after worker's fingertips severed

Date:

24 January 2013

Release No:

HSE/M/15/13

A Derbyshire engineering company has been fined for safety breaches after an employee severed the tips of two fingers on an unguarded bandsaw.

Chesterfield Magistrates' Court heard today (24 January) that Anthony Baker, 52 from Darley Dale, was cleaning swarf off the bed of the saw at Firth Rixson Forgings Ltd on 20 May 2011. The saw was operating in automatic mode and when the blade moved down towards the bed of the saw his glove got caught and his hand was dragged in.

Mr Baker lost the tips of two fingers on his right hand at the scene. He was off work for a week but has been able to return to the same job.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that the machine had not been switched off prior to cleaning and that the saw blade had never been guarded.

Firth Rixson Forgings Ltd, of Dale Road North, Darley Dale, Matlock, 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 a machine. The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,894.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Berian Price said:

"The company has operated four of these saws for around 20 years but they have never been fitted with adequate guarding to prevent access to the dangerous moving parts. Firth Rixson failed to recognise the risk this posed and therefore failed to protect its employees from harm.

"The machines have now been properly guarded but it is unfortunate a man had to suffer a painful injury before this happened."

For information and advice about working safely with machinery, visit www.hse.gov.uk/manufacturing.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: "Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken... to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar; or to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar before any part of a person enters a danger zone."

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