Shopfitter's Finger Severed in Rotating Saw
Health & Safety update - 04/07/2011
A shopfitting firm has been sentenced after one of its
employees' fingers was severed in a rotating saw. The employee was
trimming oak planks when a piece of wood caught on the blade of the
circular saw, pulling his index finger into the machine. He was
taken to hospital and his finger was amputated at the knuckle the
following day.
The Magistrates' Court was told the guard for the saw was
resting on a table at the side of the machine when the worker's
finger was severed.
The HSE investigation found the company had carried out a risk
assessment for the saw but this had not been passed on to its
employees. The injured worker had never been given any training by
the company on using the saw, and no warning signs were on the
machine.
The Company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to
provide adequate instructions for using the saw. It was fined
£3,000 and ordered to pay £3,498 in prosecution costs on 14 June
2011.
Speaking after the hearing, the investigating HSE inspector
said, "These kinds of incidents are all too common in the
manufacturing industry and sadly result in workers suffering
life-long injuries. Good health and safety isn't about filling in
forms. It was pointless for the company to carry out a risk
assessment if they weren't going to pass it on to their staff. No
instructions or training were provided on how to use the saw safely
and supervision in the workshop appeared to be minimal. If the
shopfitting company had done more to protect the safety of its
employees then one of them wouldn't have lost a finger."