A company manufacturing composite hose products has been fined after an agency worker was pulled into a spinning lathe and injured his right arm.
The man, working at Novaflex Ltd, had his sleeve caught between a pinch wheel and rotating mandrel which then pulled his arm into the machine. Injuries included an open fracture to his right arm, and severe bruising to his body and skin abrasions. The injuries mean his right arm is permanently weak, making day to day tasks more difficult.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the accident and found that Novaflex Ltd had failed to recognise the risk of entrapment, and had not implemented any controls to mitigate that risk. The lathe had also been modified which meant that operators had to work even more closely to the machine which increased the risk involved. Along with the dangers already present, the company had also not implemented a safe system of work for the task, and workers had not been given the appropriate level of training or instruction to ensure they were competent.
Novaflex Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and were fined £22,000 with costs of £7,021.30.
HSE inspector, Emily Osborne commented:
"Those in control of a workplace have a responsibility to identify and devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers."
