An engineering company in Jarrow has received a health and safety fine of £8,000 after it was found guilty of breaching health and safety regulations which led to worker getting injured.
Back in July 2012, 19-year-old worker Jack Ward dislocated his knuckle and broke his index finger after attempting to polish a manual lathe component. It is believed that either Mr Ward’s gloves or emery cloth became entangled in the rotating parts of the lathe, pulling his hand into the machinery and causing injuries which required multiple operations to repair the damage.
The company he worked for, Premier Precision Engineering Ltd, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which found serious safety failings believed to have led to the incident. The company was accused of failing to provide a safe system of work, failing to adequately assess the risks associated to this particular task and of failing to provide workers with the relevant health and safety training.
Premier Precision Engineering Ltd was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £3,875 in court costs after pleading guilty to the charges made against it. HSE inspector Fiona McGarry said after the hearing:
“Too many workers are injured getting tangled on manual lathes. Many of these incidents involve the use of emery cloth and employers must assess the need to use it on components on manual lathes and avoid it where possible.”
