Worker's friend injured helping out in workshop

A family friend who offered to help out in a workshop in Batley was severely injured when her arm was dragged into a rotating machine tool.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told Dewsbury magistrates that Julie Thackray was helping out at a friend's business when her glove became caught in the chuck of a high-speed milling machine, leaving her with fractures and cuts to her forearm.

Business owner Graham Salter, 56, trading as Diptune, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety legislation for failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery. He was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,622 in costs.

Mr Salter prepared veteran racing motorbikes for competitions in a workshop behind his home in Woodhall Drive, Batley, and also did work for a local firm modifying parts for extractor fans.

In the run up to a race event, Mr Salter needed extra help with the fan side of the business, so his wife's friend, Julie Thackray, offered to help out, despite having no experience of that type of work.

HSE's investigation showed that Mr Salter had programmed the milling machine to run non-stop while he replaced machined parts with new ones by hand. Guard screens around the machine had also been left open.

He trained Ms Thackray to follow his method of work, initially supervised her and warned her about dangers of her clothes, hair and jewelry getting caught in the machine. He did not warn her of the risks of wearing gloves, which could get snagged by rotating parts.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector John Micklethwaite said:

"Julie Thackray was very lucky that the glove ripped apart - allowing her to free her arm, but not before she suffered very serious injuries.

"Mr Salter's working practice of reaching in and out of a milling machine operating at high speed was very dangerous. But it becomes even more so working with gloves on. Ms Thackray should never have been exposed to this danger.

"Safety guards are there for a reason, and Mr Salter should have programmed the machine to stop after each cycle. The milling should have been done with guards in place and, when the machine stopped, the guards would have opened so the components could be changed."

In 2008/9 the number of major injuries in manufacturing was 4,479. Contact with moving machinery accounts for a much higher proportion of injuries in manufacturing (11%) than other industries (2%).

Information on improving health and safety in manufacturing is available at www.hse.gov.uk/manufacturing[2].