Company ignores rules for eight years
June 24, 2009
Factory owners are being urged to put the safety of their staff first after an aerospace engineering company regularly ignored health and safety rules for eight years.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Crest Engineering Company Ltd after finding safety guards missing or not in use on several 'milling' machines, which are used to shape metal.
The company had previously been ordered to replace the guards on the machines at its factory, at Throstle Bank Works on Dukinfield Road in Hyde, but they were later removed or unlocked.
Crest Engineering, which is based in Stalybridge, pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences at Trafford Magistrates Court on Tuesday 23 June. It was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,003.
The company was prosecuted for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees. It was also charged with breaching Regulation 11(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to make sure the machine guards were well maintained, in an efficient working order and in good repair.
The HSE first served Crest Engineering with an Enforcement Notice in 1999 for failing to have a safety switch on a piece of machinery. When inspectors visited the site again in 2001, they served eight Enforcement Notices after finding safety guards missing on several machines.
Witness statements given to the HSE revealed that, although the guards were initially provided following the visit, they were removed or put out of use within a few months. Inspectors took the decision to prosecute the company after revisiting the site in May 2007.
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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Crest Engineering Company Ltd after finding safety guards missing or not in use on several 'milling' machines, which are used to shape metal.
The company had previously been ordered to replace the guards on the machines at its factory, at Throstle Bank Works on Dukinfield Road in Hyde, but they were later removed or unlocked.
Crest Engineering, which is based in Stalybridge, pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences at Trafford Magistrates Court on Tuesday 23 June. It was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,003.
The company was prosecuted for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees. It was also charged with breaching Regulation 11(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to make sure the machine guards were well maintained, in an efficient working order and in good repair.
The HSE first served Crest Engineering with an Enforcement Notice in 1999 for failing to have a safety switch on a piece of machinery. When inspectors visited the site again in 2001, they served eight Enforcement Notices after finding safety guards missing on several machines.
Witness statements given to the HSE revealed that, although the guards were initially provided following the visit, they were removed or put out of use within a few months. Inspectors took the decision to prosecute the company after revisiting the site in May 2007.
Find out more about Risk Assessment
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