Lisa Skinner said: “The equipment in use by BMM Weston at the time of Mr Beal’s incident was badly maintained and unsafe.

A Kent engineering company has been fined after a factory worker suffered severe injuries to his fingers while operating an unguarded circular saw on a broken machine.

Graham Beal from Faversham, Kent, was using a metal-cutting circular saw to make trolley handles at the Brent Hill factory of BMM Weston Ltd on 28 October 2011.

The work involved cutting and shaping a solid steel bar that Mr Beal had to hold steady because the machine’s clamping mechanism was broken. As he attempted to do the job, his fingers came into contact with the unguarded blade, severing tendons in his hand and causing serious lacerations to his fingers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today (22 Nov) prosecuted BMM Weston Ltd for safety breaches after investigating the incident.

Maidstone Magistrates Court was told that HSE found several other saws at the factory that also had issues with inadequate guarding and maintenance.

BMM Weston Ltd of Weston Works, Faversham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 5 and 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £1200 for Regulation 5, £1200 for Regulation 11 and ordered to pay £1985 in costs.

via Faversham factory fined for safety failings.