On 3rd September 2021, an employee at Exwold Technology Limited’s site in Billingham sustained serious injuries when four fingers on his left hand were severed during machinery start-up. The blades of a rotary valve had not been effectively isolated from the power supply while part of the production line was being prepared between cleaning operations. As the employee checked for air flow, his fingers became caught between the blades and the valve’s internal casing, resulting in the amputation.
Less than three months later, on 24th November 2021, a second incident occurred at the company’s Brenda Road site in Hartlepool. An employee was struck by a forklift truck after the driver’s view was obscured by the load being carried. The driver was unaware that a pedestrian was walking in front of the vehicle at the time of the collision.
An investigation by the HSE found that at the Billingham site the company had failed to put suitable procedures in place to effectively isolate dangerous machinery between cleaning operations. A separate investigation found that at the Hartlepool site the company had failed to effectively manage forklift truck operations and designated pedestrian routes.
Exwold Technology Limited of Brenda Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to two breaches of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £10,492.19 in costs with a victim surcharge of £190.
In court, the judge referenced the genuine improvement the company had made to improve health and safety following the incidents.
HSE Inspector Jonathan Wills said, “Workplace transport and machinery guarding incidents continue to have life-changing consequences for those who are simply carrying out their day-to-day jobs. The safe isolation of dangerous moving parts must be considered for routine maintenance activities such as this. Businesses must also ensure that precautions are in place to protect workers in areas where forklift trucks operate. For two such serious incidents to occur at the same company in such a short space of time is particularly troubling, and Exwold Technology Limited’s work to improve health and safety at their sites is necessary and urgent.”
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