15/04/2025
The tragedy at Grenfell Tower and the two subsequent independent reviews exposed significant failures in the construction products regulatory system and revealed institutional failures that ...
A Powys firm has been fined for serious safety failings after a woodworker had his right arm severed while clearing sawdust from underneath a circular saw. The employee, 59, was working in the firm’s factory when the incident happened on 23 February 2012.
Llandrindod Wells Magistrates’ Court was told on 21st January 2015 that at the time of the incident the employee had finished sawing for the day and his last task after an 11-hour shift was to clean the saw and saw well.
He stopped the machine and opened the door of the well while the blade was still running down and was on one knee blowing air into the well to clear the dust. At the same time a forklift truck drove into the factory and he turned his head to look.
As he did so the moving blade caught the sleeve of his work jacket and cut his right arm. Although he managed to pull himself free, the arm was almost wholly severed.
The employee was taken to hospital, where he remained for a month, but doctors were unable to successfully reattach his arm and he underwent an amputation below the elbow. He was unable to return to work because of his injuries and has since died from an unrelated illness.
The HSE investigation into the matter found that although the machine was fitted with an interlock that stops power to the saw when the door to the saw well is opened, the saw took more than 30 seconds to stop completely.
The court was also told that a self-employed machine maintenance engineer inspected the saw three months before the incident and told one of the company’s managers that it should be taken out of service or fitted with a brake which would stop the blade much sooner.
The company, which is not a BWF member, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £11,865 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Damian Corbett said:
“This incident was entirely preventable. Saws cause the most injuries in the woodworking industry and power-operated circular saws are dangerous machines which have caused many serious incidents.
“Employees should not be able to gain access to dangerous parts of the machinery while they are moving and the company had a duty, as do all employers, to ensure that this cannot happen.
“Unfortunately in this case the saw had not finished rotating despite the fact that the employee had switched it off and he then inadvertently came into contact with the moving blade, suffering a horrific injury.”
The safety of your workers is of prime importance. The BWF's comprehensive 91 page Guide to Health and Safety in the woodworking industry includes guidance on young persons in the workplace and with HSE recovering costs at a rate of £1000/day for inspections, during which a breach is found, BWF has prepared a number of resources to help you mitigate Health and Safety risk such as:
– A 12 point ‘Health and Safety: the essentials’ checklist to help prevent you getting caught out and advice on what HSE field inspectors are looking for in our Health and Safety publications.
– Our selection of woodworking machinery safety cards.
– Health and Safety training – including machine refresher training, Health & Safety management qualifications and more.
– As a member you can also ring our Health and Safety helpline on 0844 209 2610.
– Our Health & Safety Hero Campaign resources include short videos you can show to your staff, presentations you can adapt to your own company's health & safety processes and safety essential checklists you can give to each member of staff. There will be a new topic launched each month
