WFEL and equipment supplier fined after factory death

STOCKPORT-based military bridge manufacturer WFEL and a Dutch machinery supplier have been fined over the death of an employee.

WFEL employee Brian Miller suffered fatal injuries at the manufacturing plant in Heaton Chapel in the incident on January 12 2008.

He was found lying deal under a machine by his brother, Robert, who also worked at the site.
 
WFEL and Netherlands-based firm Unisign Produktie Automatisering BV, which designed and manufactured the machine,, were ordered to pay more than £450,000 in fines and costs for serious breaches of safety.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Unisign and WFEL after investigating Mr Miller’s death.

Manchester Crown Court, Minshull Street, heard the 38-year-old father-of-two from Denton had been working on a large machine used to manufacture bridges for the military.

The investigation found Mr Miller had been leaning over a part of the machine to try and fix a fault with one of the switches when a large hydraulic ram descended on him. He was discovered by his brother, Robert, who also worked at the factory.

Unisign Produktie Automatisering BV, which designed and manufactured the machine, was found to have supplied a machine which did not comply with European safety standards, as access should not have been possible when the machine was running at full speed.

The company, of Panningen in the southern part of the Netherlands, was fined £200,000 after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £28,313.

WFEL was prosecuted after it failed to ensure a safe system was in place for workers using the machine. The company was fined £200,000 with costs of £28,074 after admitting a breach of the same Act.

HSE Inspector Philip Strickland added: “This was a tragic death which could have been avoided if both the machine manufacturer and the factory owner had put more thought into the safety of the people using the machine.

“Unisign should not have supplied a machine which fell below accepted standards and did not have suitable guards and safety systems installed to protect workers. WFEL should have made sure its employees only fixed faults when the machine was in a safe state.

“It simply should not have been possible to access dangerous parts of the machine while it was still operating, but both Unisign and WFEL allowed this to happen.”

A spokesperson from WFEL, said: “We accept the outcome of the Health and Safety Executive’s investigation and fine. 

Since  Brian’s tragic death we have worked with the HSE and Unisign, the manufacturer of the machine on which Brian was working, to ensure that operating procedures and design improvements to the manufacturing equipment will prevent this type of accident from reoccurring. 

“Brian will be remembered as a loyal and conscientious employee and our thoughts again go out to his family.”