04/11/2015
Pirelli Tyres Limited has pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, 1974 and section 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and have been fined a total of £28,000. The company was also ordered to pay costs of £1418.60 and a victim surcharge of £120.
The HSE prosecution was the result of an incident in 2014, where a 17 year old apprentice suffered severe injuries to his hands, requiring several operations and a partially severed finger which may still need to be amputated.
Stafford Magistrates’ Court heard evidence that the injured youth was making a spindle for the wheels of the trolley using emery cloth whilst wearing gloves to perfect the finish. The spindle was fitted to a lathe and the cloth snagged pulling Mr Powell into the lathe.
Inadequate Health and Safety Training
The HSE investigation showed that there was inadequate risk management procedures in place to ensure such accidents involving the lathes did not occur. It also found all the apprentices lacked proper training when it came to using the machines.
After the hearing, the investigator was quoted as saying; “HSE has a specific information sheet on this practice and had this been followed by the company and a suitable risk assessment carried out, this incident could have been prevented. Every year there are serious accidents involving the use of emery cloth on metalworking lathes.
“Pirelli Tyres Limited has since taken action to deal with the deficiencies we identified during this investigation.”
Fisher Scoggins Waters are a London based law firm who are experts in construction, manufacturing and engineering matters. If you have recently had a health and safety incident occur in your workplace, please phone us on 0207 993 6960.