County Tyrone engineering firm fined after an employee was seriously injured at work

Following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), a Co. Tyrone engineering company, D-Tec Engineering (NI) Limited, has been fined for failing to ensure the safety of employees while working at an automatic lathe.

Today at Dungannon Crown Court, the Company was fined £2,000 after earlier pleading guilty to a single health and safety offence.

The Court heard that on 27 January 2023, an employee sustained serious hand injuries while using emery cloth at an automatic lathe. A metal component had been placed into the lathe and the emery cloth was applied by hand for the purposes of smoothing and resizing the component.

During this process, the employee’s right hand became entangled with the rotating lathe shaft. After transfer to hospital, the extent of the injuries resulted in the amputation of three fingers on his right hand. The employee also sustained fractures to his right hand and forearm, and fractures to his left hand.

HSENI Inspector, Kevin Campbell said: “Employers have a legal duty to ensure employees and others are not put at risk from unguarded machinery. 

“Employers must ensure they complete a thorough risk assessment of the work process and implement proper controls to prevent harm to their workers. It is never acceptable to apply emery cloth directly by hand on a rotating automatic or manual metal working machine such as lathes.”

It was further established that the Company did not have an adequate risk assessment relating to the use of the lathe, and that it did not have adequate documented procedures or work instruction for use of the lathe.

More information in relation to the use of emery cloth on metalworking machines is available on our website at:

• www.hseni.gov.uk/news/safe-use-emery-cloth

Notes to editors: 

1. Breaches and fines for D-Tec Engineering (NI) Ltd are as follows:
   a) Article 4(1) of Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, fine £1,000
   b) Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (NI) 2000, fine £1,000
2. Emery cloth is a type of abrasive paper or sandpaper, that can be used to debur, polish or size a wide range of metal components while held in the rotating chuck jaws of a lathe. Emery cloth should never be applied directly by hand to manual or automatic lathes
3. For media enquiries please contact: HSENI Press Office on 028 9024 3249 or email media@hseni.gov.uk. For out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110

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