A factory worker nearly severed his arm while using an industrial saw, which he had not been properly trained to use, a court heard.
Daniel Gaskin, 28, was only 10 weeks into his job as a furniture assembler at Machine Hire Ltd’s factory in Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex when the incident took place on 17 March 2010.
Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that the day before the incident Mr Gaskin had been given only five minutes instruction on how to operate a power-operated ‘cross-cut’ saw, which is used to slice up wooden off-cuts.
As he moved the saw to cut a piece of wood, the blade ran across his left arm and penetrated both bones in his forearm. He underwent extensive surgery and doctors were able to save his arm, but he is still unable to return to work owing to his injuries.
An investigation found the standard of training provided was seriously deficient and included no instruction on how to use the machine’s nose guard. It also found the guard had been set to rest at 80mm above the piece of wood, when it should have been no more than 12mm high. This meant the guard was too high to prevent the blade from cutting Mr Gaskin’s arm. The guard had been set at this height during the training, so Mr Gaskin was unaware that it was set at an unsafe height.
On 19 March 2010, the HSE issued an Improvement Notice, which required the company to review the standards of its training. HSE inspector, Vicky Fletcher, told SHP that the incident was entirely preventable. She said: “Machine Hire failed to ensure only properly trained employees had access and authorisation to use the saw.
“Whoever is instructing people in the use of such machinery must be competent not just as machine operators but also as trainers. Training needs to include how to properly use all the safety features of a particular machine and needs to be backed up with sufficient supervision to make sure standards by all staff are maintained.
“This company had access to the necessary standards but failed to implement them.”
Machine Hire appeared in court on 11 January and pleaded guilty to breaching reg. 9(1) of PUWER 1998, for failing to provide adequate training. It was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £3500 in costs.
In mitigation, the company said it had no previous convictions and had complied with the Improvement Notice. It has appointed a safety consultant and subsequently carried out a full review of its safety procedures. It has also introduced a new comprehensive training programme to ensure that its employees know how to operate all machines at the site in a safe manner.
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