Another avoidable accident

A Lancashire couple has been prosecuted after an employee was seriously injured twice in less than two months at a pine furniture workshop. The injured employee was cutting a small groove into a pine door on 13 July 2009 when it shot out of the machine, forcing his left hand onto a rotating blade. The 21-year-old’s index finger was badly cut, most of his nail was removed and the bone was broken.
 
The machine which caused the employee’s injuries The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the couple, for failing to provide suitable training for employees, and for not adequately controlling the risk to workers of being injured. The Magistrates’ Court heard that, just three weeks before the July incident, HSE had issued seven enforcement notices after the employee suffered similar injuries from a circular saw. The notices required specific improvements to be made at the workshop, and work on the unguarded and unsafe saw to be stopped completely. The HSE’s investigating inspector at, said: “It is regrettable that a worker was badly injured twice in less than two months because basic health and safety measures were not in place. The employee has now left the joinery profession as a result of the injuries he suffered. “We had no other choice but to prosecute following the second incident, which could easily have been prevented. A simple jig should have been used to handle the wood, keeping the operator’s hands away from the blade. Blocks of wood should also have been fitted to the front and back of the machine to deflect the wood if it shot out. “Sadly, the standard of training needed to do this type of work safely had not been provided. If the measures required by health and safety law had been taken then the employee would not have been injured in this way.” The employers’ both pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 9(1) and 12 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and were each fined £6,000. They were also both ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to the employee and £2,000 each towards prosecution costs. According to HSE, the woodworking industry has one of the highest injury rates in the manufacturing sector, with most caused by contact with moving machinery. Details on improving safety and where to get relevant training are available from the BWF and from the HSE website at