Poor guarding on machinery leads to serious injury and heavy fine for Dumfries sawmill

A Dumfries sawmill has been fined £20,000 for safety failings after a worker, 32, suffered severe injuries to his arm when it became trapped in poorly guarded machinery.

The incident happened on 12 January 2010 and during the case, which ended in October 2013, Dumfries Sheriff Court was told that the worker had been at a wood-stacking machine when he reached over a safety fence to pick up banding strips to tie the planks together. As he did, one of the machine’s arms, which lowers the planks into position, came forward and pinned his right arm against the inside of the fence trapping it.

His arm was then hit by the base block of the machine arm, breaking his elbow and leaving a bone protruding through the skin. The worker needed surgery to repair the fracture and did not return to work full-time until four months later. His arm is not expected to recover the full range of movement.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that a practice had developed for that particular machine whereby pre-cut banding strips were hung through the safety fence making them easily accessible but putting workers at risk of getting too close to machinery.

The investigation concluded that the company:
•    failed to properly assess the risks to employees by inadequate guarding of the machine and by a fence that was too close to and too short to protect people close to the machine;
•    failed to provide and maintain a safe machine and system of work for employees engaged in stacking and banding planks;
•    failed to provide adequate safeguarding measures to stop the machine’s operation in the event a person got too close to the machine’s moving parts;
•    failed to prevent the storage of banding strips on the boundary fence where they could fall through and lead to injury to anyone attempting to retrieve them.

The business was fined £20,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

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.