Health and safety audit, timber company fined for incident
A timber company located in Stoke-on-Trent will be fined due to a worker incident wherein the person lost his finger. The employee lost the finger when operating a circular saw. The worker was 42 at the time of the 2011 incident. The HSE examined the company with health and safety audits to determine what occurred. The top guard on the saw was not adjusted correctly. This meant the protection device was not attached and therefore the worker’s hand was in jeopardy. The employee was also not given proper health and safety training on the saw.
Circular saws are some of the most dangerous to use because of the blade. It is why there are guards on them to fall in place as soon as the wood is cut. Without the push stick attached to the machine, anyone using the saw would have been in danger. An employee without proper training would certainly be in more danger. The employee was off work for several months while his hand healed. The company Scott Timber Limited pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined £5,000 by the court. Additional costs of £2,300 were also charged due to the court proceedings that had to be conducted due to the incident.
The fact is the incident could have been avoided if proper maintenance on the tools had been conducted and proper training. Construction tools must be handled with care and safety.
