Mahle fined for health and safety failing
A company based in Warwickshire has admitted health and safety offences after a heavy steel coil fell and injured an employee at their premises in Kilmarnock.
A company based in Warwickshire has admitted health and safety offences after a heavy steel coil fell and injured an employee at their premises in Kilmarnock.
Mahle Engine Systems UK Limited, which manufactures components for motor vehicle engines, pled guilty to a contravention of Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £5000 after the incident at Riccarton.
On 21st October 2014 an employee bypassed a machine guard in an attempt to connect the ends of a steel coil that were running through a machine that’s designed to bond aluminium alloy to steel. He was passing one of the ends of coil up to a colleague who was standing above him on a gantry when he was told by a manager to get out of the area. When the employee let go it inadvertently slipped from his colleague’s grasp and fell, causing a deep laceration to the left elbow of the worker.
The case was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive who found that there was no safe system of work in place at the time of the incident telling operatives how to deal with a weld break. They also found that no suitable and sufficient risk assessment had been carried out for the task.
The accident could have been avoided had reasonably practicable precautions been taken.
Gary Aitken, Head of Health & Safety Division said: "This was a foreseeable and avoidable accident which resulted in the serious injury of an employee. "Mahle Engine Systems UK Limited accepted liability and the Crown accepted their guilty plea to the contraventions of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.
"Since this incident the company has introduced new risk assessments and has put into practice safe systems of work.
“It is unfortunate that these long standing issues were only dealt with following a serious accident and it is hoped that other companies learn from this incident.”