29 June 2009
Sasha Wood

Aerospace components manufacturer Crest Engineering has been fined £13,000 after ignoring enforcement notices to fit safety guards on eight milling machines at a factory in Greater Manchester.

During a visit to the factory in May 2007, the HSE discovered the company had removed or unlocked guarding on several milling machines, which are used to shape metal.

The factory had been served eight enforcement notices for machine guards back in 2001, but refused to heed the warnings. Witnesses told the HSE that though the factory initially fitted guards on the machines, they were removed within months.

"Crest Engineering took the deliberate decision to remove safety guards on the machines despite receiving a formal warning from us about the issue," said HSE inspector David Norton.

At Trafford Magistrates' Court, Crest pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, for failing to ensure employee safety. It also admitted violating Section 11(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, by failing to use machine guards. The firm was ordered to pay a £13,000 fine with £3003 in costs.

Categories:
HSE, Enforcement (prosecutions), Manufacturing / engineering, Prosecutions, Enforcement (prosecutions), Work equipment



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