A FABRIC company has been fined after a teenage apprentice suffered injuries when his arm was dragged around a machine’s roller.
The 18-year-old employee had been trying to remove a crease from a roll of silk at Adamley Mill in Langley when his finger became caught, wrapping his left arm around a roller, and breaking it in two places.
Medaax Ltd, which trades as Adamley Textiles from its River Mills site, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
A hearing at Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (May 28) heard the employee had been operating a machine used to dye and wash silk when the incident happened in November 2012.
Peter Hayes, prosecuting on behalf of the HSE, said: “He was in the process of winding the dyed silk onto a roller so that it could be removed from the machine when he noticed a crease and used his left hand to smooth it out.
“As he did so, his finger became caught and trapped, pulling his arm into and around the roller. He had to be cut free and suffered injuries and fractures to his arm. He also suffered nerve damage which temporarily limited the use of his left hand.”
The court heard that no system was in place to cut the power in an emergency, or to reduce the speed of the rollers.
Vicky Woodfine, defending, told the court that since the accident Medaax Ltd have installed a pull-cord emergency stop device and a ‘hold to run’ button on the machine, which means it automatically stops operating when the button is not being pressed.
She said: “The company deeply regrets this incident.
“The company donates four to eight per cent of its profits to charity every year and take its safety responsibility very seriously. It has now employed a full-time health and safety advisor.”
Medaax Ltd, which had already paid £10,230 for the costs of the HSE investigation, was fined a total of £24,000 and ordered to pay a further £4,466.86 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Deborah Walker said: “A teenage worker suffered injuries because he was let down by the company responsible for his safety.
“He was a relatively new employee at the firm but his injuries could easily have happened to other workers as they were regularly exposed to the same hazard.
“The risk of workers’ arms being dragged in by machine rollers is well known in the manufacturing industry and it’s vital that firms act to improve safety. If the measures Medaax implemented following the incident had been in place sooner then the young worker’s injuries could have been avoided.”
Speaking after the hearing, the company’s managing director, Tro Manoukian , said: “As one of the remaining traditional silk dyeing and silk screen printing specialists, Medaax Ltd employs more than 40 local workers in the Macclesfield area.
“As such, the company has always recognised health and safety in the workplace as an integral part of the business and has comprehensive systems in place to ensure the safety of all employees.
“Unfortunately on November 6, 2012, an incident occurred that resulted in an injury to our employee. Following this isolated incident, Medaax Ltd co-operated fully with the investigating authority and has implemented further measures to ensure no such incident happens in the future.
“We are further pleased to announce that the employee has made a full recovery, has completed his apprenticeship and is now a fully qualified colourist.”
