Risk news

Working with machinery can be very dangerous, but there are several ways of minimising the chances of accidents occurring.

One of the most common times that accidents with machinery happen is when a machine is being fixed, cleaned or reloaded.

By making sure that there are appropriate guards over the most dangerous parts of the machine, that they are serviced regularly and kept in good working order and that staff are fully trained, accidents are less likely to happen.

A recent example of a prosecution which stemmed from an incident relating to machinery occurred when a worker was attempting to rethread a wire in a machine.

Despite guards being fitted, which should have seen the power to the machine be cut off when they were moved out of the way, the machine started unexpectedly.

Jill Thompson, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said: "Prevention of access to moving parts of machinery is a clear duty upon employers and includes making sure that safety features of machines are maintained effectively."

Sections of the worker's skin were wrenched off by the machine and he sustained a dislocated elbow and fractures to his lower arm.

His injuries have led to three skin grafts being undertaken to repair the damage and a pair of metal plates being inserted into his arm.

An investigation by the HSE found that it is possible that when the worker leaned over the machine in order to rethread the wire he depressed the button to start the machine.

Despite having measures in place to check guards on machines the company did not have a procedure for checking switches.

Ms Thompson said: "This is an example of how a simple failure of a safety switch can result in life-changing injuries. Had the company included safety switch checking as part of the guard checking system, this incident would probably have been avoided."

At the hearing it emerged that the company has been prosecuted for incidents relating to machinery as well as being the subject of enforcement notices in the past.

It was given a fine of £12,000 and ordered to pay £3,762 in costs for breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.