WA engineering company fined after worker lost part of his arm

A WA engineering company has recently been fined $200,000 over an incident in which a worker lost part of his arm, just below the elbow.

The company was fined in the Armadale Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to failing to provide a safe work environment.

In October 2018, the worker had been instructed to polish a steel shaft to reduce its diameter so a bearing could be slid onto it. He attached the shaft to a manual lathe, half-circling a length of emery cloth around the shaft. He held the ends of the cloth in each hand while the shaft rotated.

The shaft was rough and sharp and therefore the worker had to wear gloves. When the worker finished handling the shaft, he did not remove his gloves and began polishing on the lathe. After a short time, the emery cloth and the glove on the worker’s left hand became caught in the rotating shaft of the lathe. His left arm was amputated just below the elbow.

WorkSafe Western Australia Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said the company did not conduct any risk assessments in relation to polishing on manual lathes and that workers performing this task were not adequately trained.

Read the full story here.