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July 24, 2017

Health & Safety – Company fined following lathe accident

An engineering company based in Wakefield have been fined £5,000 with £2,763.40 costs following a worker injuring their hand on a lathe.

Hallamshire Engineering Service Ltd offer design, engineering, manufacturing and development capability and specialise in conveyor pulleys, hard facing & design wear control, clay preparation, bulk material and drilling services.  The injured worker was employed by The Works agency, a specialist recruitment business in the Yorkshire area. He had been working on site with Hallamshire Engineering Service Ltd for only four days before the accident occurred.

In September 2014, the worker was polishing a metal shaft on a lathe using an emery cloth, wearing gloves to carry out the task. One of the gloves snagged and pulled his hand towards the rotating shaft. As a result, the worker sustained stitches in his hand and dislocated his scaphoid bone (the scaphoid being a small bone in the wrist).

The Health and Safety Executive carried out an investigation and found that suitable and sufficient assessments had not been carried out with regard to control measures for polishing. This meant there were no clear guidelines on a safe way to polish.

The case was heard in Sheffield Magistrates’ Court where Hallamshire Engineering Service Ltd plead guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 3 (1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Laura Hunter, HSE Inspector, said that “those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working.” Laura went on to say that the incident could have been avoided if the correct control measures and safe working practices were carried out.


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EH3 8HA