A Cardiff based steel manufacturer has been fined £200,000 after a worker’s hand was crushed by a piece of machinery.
Rom Ltd has been fined £200.000 and has been ordered to pay an additional £17,200.63 after the incident, which saw a worker lose the top of one of his fingers and his hand crushed.
The company, of Castle Works, East Moors Road, Cardiff pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
The court at North Staffordshire justice centre heard how on the 23 October 2015 a worker suffered an injury to his hand at Rom ltd’s site in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
The court hear how the worker was using a Koch Straightener, a machine used for straightening steel wire, when his hand become trapped and was crushed between rotating rollers inside the machine.
The worker’s hand was crushed and he lost the top of his right index finger due to the accident.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to identify the risks associated with workers manually operating this machine, nor were steps taken to ensure the machine was correctly guarded.
It was found the company also failed to provide the required level of supervision to this activity and as a result led to the worker suffering these injuries.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector David Keane said: “This man suffered a life-changing injury. The company failed to protect the worker from harm by not properly considering the risks associated with manually operating dangerous machinery such as this.”
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When i saw the fine and the injury i was astonished. But then read the company had failed to even implement the basic requirements of PUWER let alone conduct operational assessments. Where do these companies find their so called safety professionals? unbelievable
Remember the company are the responsible entity and have to meet the requirements of the law, the HS advisor or consultant may well have given the appropriate advice, as often happens no one follows the advice until it’s too late. The irony then is everyone moves to blames the Advisor or consultant.