Faversham factory fined for injuries from unguarded circular saw 28 November 2012

Kentish engineering firm BMM Weston has been fined £2,400 with £1985 costs, after one of its factory workers suffered severe injuries while operating an unguarded circular saw on a broken machine.

Graham Beal, from Faversham, was using a metal-cutting saw to make trolley handles at the Brent Hill factory on 28 October 2011. He had to hold a solid steel bar steady, because the machine's clamping mechanism was broken, but his fingers came into contact with the unguarded blade.

Maidstone Magistrates Court was told that HSE found several other saws at the factory that also had issues with inadequate guarding and maintenance.

"The equipment in use by BMM Weston at the time of Mr Beal's incident was badly maintained and unsafe... Alternative machinery on site had similar deficiencies," comments HSE inspector Lisa Skinne.

"The firm has now fitted a suitable guarding kit for the machine and fixed the clamping mechanism so that employees don't need to hold the workpiece whilst cutting the saw blade," she continues.

"If BMM Weston had taken the time to properly assess the risks and taken their responsibilities seriously, Mr Beal would not have suffered these injuries."

Brian Tinham

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Health & Safety Executive

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