Use of unguarded bandsaw leads to horrific injury and £30k fine

An incident during which a worker suffered horrific injuries to his arm when it was pulled into unguarded machinery has resulted in a sawmill being fined £30,000 for serious safety failings.

The Scottish company, who were not BWF members was prosecuted after the HSE investigated the incident which took place at the company’s Brumley Brae sawmill on 26 September 2011.

Elgin Sheriff Court was told earlier this month that the 20-year-old employee was operating a machine used to cut large pieces of timber, with a continuous blade revolving at high speed. Whilst trying to feed some wood through, his arm was drawn into the machine and cut in half lengthways up to the elbow. He sustained significant injuries and needed 16 operations to try and repair ligament, muscle and nerve damage. He has lost one finger entirely and part of another finger, and now struggles to use his right hand.

He is unlikely to be able to return to work for a considerable length of time.

The HSE investigation reported that that, despite the risks being widely known in the woodworking industry, the drive wheels and chain drive were unguarded and the saw-blade guard was not positioned correctly.

The employee had also not received any formal training on the machine and was left unsupervised even though he was untrained and inexperienced. Training in the use of the machine was informal and generally carried out by the person who had previously used it, whether or not they had ever been formally trained themselves.

Employees had not been made aware of the risks and dangers which could occur during woodcutting operations. They had also not been given a push-stick which would have allowed them to move wood through the machinery whilst remaining at a distance from cutting blades.

Tennants (Elgin) Limited, of South Street, Elgin, was fined £30,000 after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Following the case, HSE Principal Inspector Niall Miller, said:

“This incident was wholly avoidable. The employee was let down by the company’s lack of proper training, inadequate assessment of risks, and ineffective measures to stop access to dangerous parts of equipment.

“The risks of bandsaws – where there are fast moving cutting parts – are well known in the sawmill industry and the company should have put in place suitable measures to prevent this type of injury from occurring.

HSE statistics for 2010/11 show there were 25 fatal injuries and more than 17,000 injuries in the manufacturing industries. It is estimated that British employers would save 250,000 work days each year if they could just keep people safe on machinery.

BWF has produced a 12 point ‘Health and Safety: the essentials’ checklist to help prevent you getting caught out. You can download it from our Health and Safety publications, along with additional guidance on what HSE inspectors will be looking for: www.bwf.org.uk/publications/health-and-safety/3. We have also negotiated exclusive rates with experienced health & safety advisors for a simple value for money Health and Safety Audit package.