Two timber firms have been fined after the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) discovered breaches of worker safety.
Jeld-Wen was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £3,500 costs after an employee broke two fingers while trying to fix a live frame-making machine at its Penrith site.
Penrith Magistrates Court heard that JELD-WEN failed to make use of an isolation feature on the machine that would have prevented the worker’s hand being crushed, which led HSE to issue an Improvement Notice and state: “The consequences of this incident could have been far more severe.”
Carlisle-based Dick Thompson and Co (Cumbria) Ltd has also been reprimanded by HSE after an inspector witnessed an employee being lifted by a forklift truck to fit a sign.
Mhairi Duffy watched as Ryan Jewett was lifted 8ft in the air on a pallet to fit the sign. The HSE immediately issued a Prohibition Notice and carried out a prosecution.
The company was fined £2,000 and told to pay costs of £834.39 after pleading guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
“Although no-one was injured on this occasion, this incident had all the hallmarks of an accident waiting to happen,” said Ms Duffy.
“Accidents involving forklift trucks account for a large proportion of accidents in the workplace and it is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that drivers are properly trained and use the equipment properly.”
