A Worsley based engineering company has been fined £500,000 after a young apprentice lost the use of two fingers when using a horizontal bandsaw.
The apprentice, who was just 18 at the time, suffered the serious injuries to his fingers in an incident at Proline Engineering Limited in November 2022.
While one finger was severed completely, the other was surgically re-attached. However, the now 20-year-old has been left with very little movement and nerve damage in that finger. He had only been on a placement with the firm in order to gain experience in fabrication and engineering and was just over a month into this placement when the incident occurred.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that he was being taught how to weld as part of his apprenticeship placement. This process required multiple sections of steel to be available to practice welding on. After a brief period of verbal training he was permitted to cut lengths of steel into these sections using a horizontal bandsaw, which was located in a shipping container some distance away from the main workshop.
HSE inspector Tracy Fox said: “This young man was at the very start of his career.
“As a result of this companies failures, he sustained serious and irreversible injuries that have been truly life changing. Those injuries have impacted on many aspects of his life and resulted in him having to undergo numerous operations and procedures.
“Once a keen mountain biker and member of his local gym, his hand grip is such that he can no longer take part in those activities that he used to love.”
On the day the incident happened, he had been working unsupervised when he noticed the bandsaw was not completing a full cut due to a build-up of metal debris underneath the sawblade. As he attempted to clear away the debris, his fingers came in contact with the moving sawblade, instantly severing one finger and severely damaging another. He was taken to hospital where he remained for six days.
The investigation also found that Proline Engineering Limited had failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, resulting in a failure to provide suitable guarding arrangements on the bandsaw and had failed to put in place an adequate safe system of work. It also revealed inconsistencies and inadequacies in the provision of information, instruction, training and supervision for those required to use the bandsaw.
