Metal Fabricator Sentenced for Young Apprentice Injury

A metal fabrication company has been sentenced after pleading guilty to health and safety failings that led to a young apprentice being injured.

The apprentice sustained crushing to his hand from dangerous parts of a metal cutting guillotine during their training.

On Friday 8 November 2024, a 17-year-old apprentice at Rotherham-based MTL Advanced Ltd was cutting sheet metal in preparation for welding practice as part of their apprenticeship training.

The guillotine was located in a dedicated Apprentice Training Workshop, where first-year apprentices learn and practise metal fabrication techniques before moving into the company’s main manufacturing areas in their second and third years.

Crushed in Clamp

The apprentice made several successful cuts, but on the final cut their thumb came into contact with the machine’s clamps and got crushed.

The HSE launched an investigation and identified, from documents provided by the company before an on-site visit, that a large gap in the bed of the guillotine was allowing access to dangerous parts of the machinery. Critically, the company had failed to identify this risk even after the incident had taken place.

A Prohibition Notice was served remotely by HSE to control the ongoing risk. HSE inspectors then attended the site and identified further issues with the guillotine requiring immediate remedy.

HSE provides extensive guidance on managing risks in the workplace, including preventing access to dangerous parts of machinery and employing young persons in training. Guidance notes that young people are likely to be new to the workplace and so are at more risk of injury in the first six months of a job, as they may be less aware of risks.

More Failings

A wider inspection of the Apprentice Training Workshop revealed additional health and safety failings. These included access to live electrical parts, further instances of unguarded dangerous machinery, and deficiencies in the system of inspection for workshop equipment.

MTL Advanced Ltd, of Britannia House, Junction Street, Darwen, Lancashire, BB3 2RB, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £140,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £5,013, with a Victim Surcharge of £2,000, at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court.

HM Principal Inspector of Health and Safety, Chris Tilley, said: “Young people and apprentices are at the beginning of their career and so when it comes to workplace risks, employers must take particular care to assess those risks and fulfil their duty to keep them safe. Had this machinery been effectively guarded, this injury would never have happened.”

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