An Aberdeen firm has been fined £10,000 after a worker lost part of a finger in a piece of machinery that hadn’t been used in a decade.
Fabrication firm Harper UK Aberdeen Ltd admitted culpability by failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees when one worker’s hand was drawn into a lathe causing him severe injury and disfigurement.
The court heard that bosses within the firm asked the 60-year-old member of staff to use the lathe to polish four metal bars.
But they failed to ensure supervision of his work or provide training on the lathe, which had lain unused for 10 years and had only recently been repaired and taken back out on the shop floor of the factory in Sairs Business Park, Colpy, Insch.
Victim’s hands drawn into the machine
It was stated that the worker had used a piece of emery paper held in both hands while wearing gloves against a metal workpiece.
The emery paper snagged and the man’s gloved hands were drawn into the rotating machine.
He suffered a fractured finger, fractures to both wrists and the loss of part of his right ring finger which required plastic surgery.
The man’s hands were in casts for six weeks.
As a result, he suffered serious and severe injury, permanent impairment and permanent disfigurement.
But was ultimately able to return to work with the company.
Defence solicitor for the company, Kirsty McCorkindale described the accident as an “isolated incident” and that Harpers had taken “immediate action” after it occurred.
Risk assessment fell through the cracks
“The company cooperated with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and carried out its own internal investigation after the incident took place,” she said.
“Within 11 days of the incident, the company had rolled out a risk assessment, implemented a safe system of work and delivered a toolbox talk, specifically for the use of this equipment.
“The lathe had been in storage for more than a decade until parts were purchased and it was put back out to the shop floor – this was roughly one month before the incident occurred.”
Ms McCorkindale said that upon the lathe being brought back into use, a subsequent risk assessment had “fallen through the cracks”.
“I appreciate that it had only been on the shop floor for about a month but there had been no previous incidents [with the lathe],” she continued.
“The company is remorseful and has shown genuine regret that the incident happened at all.”
‘High risk’ posed to employees
Sheriff Lesley Johnston stated that the lathe had been held in storage for a “considerably long period of time”.
She said the health and safety breach had persisted for around a month before the accident.
The sheriff pointed to failures over guidance about emery cloth not being used with lathe of that kind, that operators shouldn’t wear gloves and the absence of a safety chuck guard.
She said these, along with a risk assessment and training not being done were a “significant and substantial cause” of the worker’s injuries.
“The risk and extent of danger was high and posed a risk to the companies’ employees who used this machinery,” Sheriff Johnston said.
But added that she had accepted that “these were not deliberate or wilful breaches of health and safety legislation”, but rather that the company had “fallen short” in its compliance with that specific piece of equipment.
Sheriff Johnston fined Harper UK Aberdeen, of Albyn Place, Aberdeen, a total of £10,350.
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