Health and Safety Audit, Manufacturer Fined for Worker Injury

A Stranraer worker suffered from a work related injury at the machinery manufacturer.  The incident has left his life permanently changed since his crushed arm was lost.  The employee was 47 at the time of the 2007 incident.  He was operating a machine that was designed by Composite Integration.  The equipment was meant to produce fire helmets.  It had a hydraulic press as part of the system.  This is the part of the machine that caused the crushed arm.

The court heard the case and details of what happened when the employee combined two fibreglass halves of the helmets in the press.  A resin is supposed to be injected to complete the helmet, but a mould was stuck rather than being put through the machine properly.  The worker opened the safety gates in order to release the helmet from the machine when his arm was caught.

It was the opinion of the HSE after health and safety audits that the factory did not have proper health and safety features in place to prevent the incident.  If the emergency button or the safety guard had forced a safety isolation then the system would not have malfunctioned and caused the incident to occur.  The court has decided that the company will be fined £25,000 for the breach in health and safety.  The manufacturer will be responsible for other costs from the court case in the future.