An HSE inspector has revealed that a factory worker was “extremely fortunate” to avoid serious injury after hitting his head on a cutting blade inside an unguarded machine.
Weston-super-Mare Magistrates’ Court heard that the incident took place at lighting firm Fineline’s workshop in Failand, North Somerset, where it produces bespoke props for the entertainment business.
On 5 February, Rolf Weber was using a five-axis routing machine to cut profile shapes into MDF boards. He screwed the boards in place inside the machine, closed the doors and switched the machine on. Believing that the cutting blade had reached its finishing position, he opened the doors and stepped inside the machine. However the blade was still in fact rotating at full speed. As he stood up after unscrewing the board he inadvertently struck his head on the blade. He suffered a deep cut and needed stitches to close the wound.
The HSE’s investigation found that the machine’s interlock system was faulty and the company had fallen into the habit of using the machine without adequate guarding. The firm was issued a Prohibition Notice on 26 February, which required the interlock system to be repaired.
HSE inspector, Christine Haberfield, told SHP that Mr Weber was extremely fortunate not to have been seriously hurt. She said: “Mr Weber’s injuries were fairly minor, but the cutter on which he hit his head was rotating at 18,000rpm and he could have been very seriously injured, or even killed.
“It’s vital that dangerous machinery is properly safeguarded. In this case, the cutting area should have been enclosed with doors that were linked to the operation of the machine to prevent anybody going into the danger area while the machine was running. People can help prevent similar incidents by checking machinery safeguards regularly, to make sure that they are still working correctly.”
Fineline appeared in court on 11 October and pleaded guilty to breaching reg. 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, for failing to prevent access to the dangerous part of the machine. It was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1800.
In mitigation, the firm said it had no previous convictions and had complied with the notice by reconfiguring the controls of the interlock system.
Inspector Haberfield added that the company had fully cooperated and entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity, which allowed the case to reach a quick conclussion.
The video below shows the machine in operation.
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Is the guy in the red overalls safely outside the area of operation??
No sign of any doors to enclose the area of operation in the video….. surely some mistake???