An Oldham company has been fined a total of £13,979 this month after it ignored two formal warnings, putting its workers' lives in danger from poorly maintained and dangerous electrics. Townfield Manufacturing Co Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after inspectors uncovered a series of cracked socket casings, exposed conductors and live wires on a visit to its premises in Mount Pleasant Street.
During the same visit on 15 December 2009, inspectors also found that staff were forced to work in gloves and coats because of the near-freezing conditions in the workshop, which had no heating system. The company, which manufactures kitchen equipment for takeaway restaurants, was served two improvement notices, requiring them to make the electrics safe and provide a reasonable working temperature. However, when the HSE returned on 17 February 2010, they found the wall sockets were still unsafe and the company had only provided workers with one stand alone heater, which had barely lifted the temperature.
Investigating HSE inspector Sarah Taylor said, "This is one of the worst cases of dangerous electrics I have ever seen. The employees at this firm were at serious risk of injury or even death. The temperature of the factory was also a serious issue. It is simply not acceptable to expect staff to work in conditions so cold that you can see your breath in the air. Improvement notices are not intended to serve as a suggestion. They need to be taken seriously and, if companies fail to comply with them, HSE will look to prosecute."
Around 1,000 electrical accidents are reported to the HSE every year, and around 25 people die of their injuries.
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