Health and safety at work courses needed
A glazing company located in Hampshire has been fined due to a worker accident. The worker lost a partial finger in a woodworking machine when his right hand was drawn into a saw rotating at 7,000 rpm. He was trying to change the thickness of timber in the factory in 2011. The blade came down and shaved off a part of his finger. This resulted in an amputation just below the first joint. The company underwent health and safety audits by the HSE to determine the cause of the incident. It was decided that the company could have prevented the accident had there been adequate safeguards on the machine. Proper guards would have made it impossible for his finger to come into contact with the machine.
For example, using a planer to reduce the thickness of the wood would also have been helpful over the machine he was using. Additionally, the machine was set up by someone not trained to use it. The incident resulted in fines of £12,000 and almost £3,800 in additional costs. Incidents such as this one happen in construction and factory companies every year due to untrained individuals and lack of safety protection on the machines.
This company is just another that needs to revisit health and safety at work courses to learn what is proper safety and health when working around machinery. Anytime you feel you might have slack in your safety measures it is a good time to speak with a consultant.
