NEWS
FINE FOR KENT TIMBER FIRM AFTER WORKER LOSES THREE FINGERS
A company has been fined after an employee had three fingers severed by a panel saw at work.
David Broadway, 36, had been working at Pemberton Timber Frame Limited, a company that manufactures timber frame structures for the construction industry, at its site in Evelyn Way in Ramsgate on the morning of 4 January 2023.
He was operating a panel saw and asked to cut down the thickness of a length of timber – known as a rip cut. This process involved passing a length of timber through the panel saw multiple times as the timber exceeded the depth the blade could cut in one pass.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Mr Broadway was asked to complete a task that was not suitable for the machine he was using. Pemberton Timber Frame Ltd had also failed to ensure he received sufficient training or instruction on how to use the panel saw safely, which would have included vital information about the limitations of the saw, guarding and other safety features such as a
MOT TESTING CENTRE PROSECUTED AFTER CHILD CRUSHED BY CAR
An MOT Testing centre in Finsbury Park has been fined £10,000 after a child sustained life-changing injuries after being hit by a car and crushed.
A 14-year-old boy was with an adult, sitting down, waiting for an MOT to be conducted at New Auto Tech Limited on 4 May 2022. The chair was situated in front of the brake rollers, however, as the MOT technician attempted to move the car in reverse, the vehicle was driven forwards off the brake rollers, crushing the child against the wall.
The boy required immediate hospital treatment, having sustained multiple pelvis fractures. He was off school for over a year and bed bound for three months following the incident.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that New Auto Tech Limited had failed to ensure that members of the public were in a safe area when vehicles were being moved.
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riving knife and the use of a push stick. The saw riving knife was also absent at the time of the incident.
HSE has clear guidance on safe woodworking which includes how and when a rip cut is carried out – a panel saw with a circular blade must not be used unless the saw blade, at all times, projects through the upper surface of the material being cut.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/index.htm
The investigation also discovered that the company had appropriate machines to undertake this task safely but Mr Broadway was unaware of this due to his lack of training.
On 8 January 2025, Pemberton Timber Frame Ltd of The Strand, Walmer, Kent pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ court. The company was fined £12,000 order to pay full costs of £4,034.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Ross Carter said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers.
“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the life changing injuries sustained by Mr Broadway would not have happened.”
The MOT Centre had a designated ‘viewing area’ to the side of the brake roller bay. This was a painted box on the floor with a chair placed inside it. However, there were no protective barriers and the business failed to stop customers from moving out of this area into parts of the workshop where vehicles were moving.
New Auto Tech Limited of Alroy Road, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for its failure to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of those not in its employment. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,810 following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on 10 January 2025.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Michelle Morphy said: “This case sends a clear message to MOT Test Centres that HSE will hold them to account if they fail to protect both workers and members of the public.
“On this occasion, they failed to protect a child, by allowing them to move from their allotted viewing area into an operational area, which should have been restricted to workers only. As such the child was seriously injured in a totally avoidable incident.”
X.COM/TOMORROWHS
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