A company which manufactures office equipment has been fined after a trainee worker was injured when he was crushed by a metal folding machine.

Newport Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of F C Brown (Steel Equipment) Limited of Newport had entered the guarded area of a metal folding machine to fix a fault. Whilst in this area he was crushed between the fixed body of the machine and the machine’s moving manipulator arm, causing serious injury.

The incident shattered all of the worker’s right-hand side ribs and broke two ribs on his left side. He was in hospital for two months.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident, which occurred on 21 May 2014, found that there was insufficient measures taken by the company to control the risks associated with its maintenance activities.

F C Brown (Steel Equipment) Limited, of Caswell Way, Reevesland Industrial Estate, Newport, was fined a total of £14,000, with costs of £9,401, after pleading guilty to an offence under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Lee Schilling said: “The injury could easily have been avoided had F C Brown (Steel Equipment) Limited provided sufficient training and an adequate level of supervision to make sure safety measures were in place when machinery maintenance activities were being undertaken.”

For more information about machinery maintenance visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/maintenance.htm^[1]

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk^[2]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ ^[3]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk