The worker and his colleague were using the rip saw to split lengths of timber; one of the two pushed the timber onto the saw, and the other pulled it from the other side. As he was feeding the wood into the machine, the saw pulled his hand in with the wood, causing a severe laceration to his right hand.
The injured person lost the first finger on his right hand, and part of his thumb. He has lost function in this hand and cannot straighten his remaining fingers.
The HSE’s investigation found there were no risk assessments or method statements for the machinery in the joinery workshop. It also found:
Masher Brothers Limited of New Cross, London pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £8,005.44 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Sarah Whittle said: “No safe system of work existed at the time of the incident. Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working.
“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to this incident, the life changing injuries the employee sustained could have been prevented.”
Find upcoming live, interactive webinars plus on-demand sessions to watch back at your convenience.
SHP runs regular health and safety webinars on a wide range of topics, from high level thought leadership, to legislation updates and technical guidance.Click below to see what’s coming up and what you can watch right now...[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="77451" img_size="medium"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title="Click here to view the latest SHP webinars" color="green" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shponline.co.uk%2Fshp-webinars%2F%3Fcid%3Dnav|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
