A case has finally been settled with a £133,000 fine after the death of a man in 2008.
John Smith had worked at Railcare Ltd for 30 years when he was tragically killed whilst cleaning an axle. After investigation it became apparent that there was a substantial lack of safety precautions and no risk assessment for this particular use of the lathe. Due to the machines age of 25 years, it meant that it came with no interlocking guarding, however there was separate guarding, which could have, and should have been used to protect the user.
Not only had there been no risk assessment for this use of the lathe, but also the lack of guard on the lathe chuck had not been flagged through health and safety processes at the factory. Lathes are notoriously dangerous and every safety precaution possible should be enforced while using them.
Railcare pleaded guilty to the failure of carrying out a sufficient risk assessment, failure to implement a safe system to work the lathe and failing to provide accurate training and safety supervision of the lathe. Although the company had safety procedures on paper, there were no floor supervisors to ensure these practises were being put in place.
Unfortunately due to the lack of care and attention to the health and safety of the company, a man tragically, and needlessly lost his life.