A Lancashire, Great Britain business, which manufactures parts for aero planes, has been sentenced after a worker's left hand was badly injured by a machine.
Callender (Lancashire) Aeropart Ltd. was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the employee's hand came into contact with a rotating blade in a milling machine at its site on Altham Industrial Estate on July 17, 2009. (WCxKit)
The 28-year-old from Oswaldtwistle severed a tendon, broke his little finger and badly cut his ring finger. He required an operation to reattach the tendon and needed physiotherapy to regain movement in his little finger.
The worker, who has asked not to be named, was cutting a metal part for a fan in a jet engine when the incident happened. He reached across machine to retrieve the metal part he had just cut, but the blade was still moving.
Accrington Magistrates' Court heard that the cutting tool on the machine was not fitted with a guard, despite the issue being raised in a risk assessment carried out by the company 16 months earlier.
Callender (Lancashire) Aeropart Ltd. admitted breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery.
The company, of Metcalf Drive in Altham, was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £3,996 towards the cost of the prosecution on Nov. 3, 2010.
David Myrtle, the investigating inspector at HSE, noted, "The injuries this worker suffered were nasty but they could have been a lot worse. He was lucky not to lose one or more of his fingers.
"The risk assessment, carried out by the company more than a year earlier, had identified the machine as being dangerous and needing a guard. But Callender failed to make sure that an appropriate guard was used.
"Unfortunately even the most experienced machine operators can have a lapse in concentration. The company should have made sure a fixed guard had been installed to prevent injuries." (WCxKit)
Last year, 35 workers lost their lives and nearly 26,000 suffered serious injuries in the manufacturing industry in Great Britain.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact: [email protected] or 860-553-6604.
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